2024: High 10 Richest Individuals In The World, In accordance with ‘Forbes’
The final couple of months of 2023 proved quite fruitful for the technology, finance and retail honchos of the world. According to the January 2024 Forbes list of the top 10 world’s richest people, these billionaires saw a massive boost in their wealth owing to a rise in share prices and diverse investments. Forbes‘ real-time billionaires list continuously tracks their net worth and ranks the richest billionaires in real-time.
Seven of them had a significant rise in their net worth with a cumulative growth of nearly USD 30 billion. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg is one of the top gainers as he jumped from the seventh spot on 1 December 2023 to the fifth in January 2024, surpassing Bill Gates.
LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, too, experienced an upward trajectory as he netted a rise of USD 9.4 billion from his 1 December standing, owing to the increase in share prices of his company.
Tesla, X (formerly Twitter) and SpaceX boss, Elon Musk continues to reign at the top. Although he trailed behind Arnault for most of the first half of 2023, Musk overtook the luxury goods tycoon in June.
Meanwhile, software baron Larry Ellison’s fortune plummeted by USD 11.2 billion in December as Oracle’s stock dipped by 10 per cent. Additionally, Indian business mogul Gautam Adani, who was the third richest in the world on January 24, 2023, has since slipped to No. 16 in the world as of 1 January 2024.
These are the top 10 billionaires in the world
Elon Musk
Wealth: USD 244.1 billion
Country: USA
Business: Tesla, SpaceX, X
Holding 23 per cent of Tesla’s shares, Musk’s success and enormous wealth are rooted in the success of the electric car company. In October 2022, he made global headlines when he bought Twitter for a colossal USD 44 billion and now owns around 74 per cent of the social media platform.
Musk became the CEO of Tesla in 2008 and took the company public in 2010. Its market cap grew manifold over 2020 and 2021, making Musk the world’s richest person in September 2021. In November, his fortune saw an all-time high when it reached USD 320 billion.
Bernard Arnault & family
Wealth: USD 188.7 billion
Country: France
Business: LVMH
Chairman and CEO of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), Bernard Arnault ranks second on the list of top 10 billionaires in the world after Musk. The conglomerate of around 70 renowned luxury brands consists of names like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moet & Chandon and Sephora. In a significant move, LVMH acquired jewellery house Tiffany & Co. in 2021 for USD 15.8 billion.
His five children also contribute to LVMH’s growth, and in January 2023, Arnault appointed his daughter Delphine to operate Dior, the second-largest brand under the banner.
Jeff Bezos
Wealth: USD 170.8 billion
Country: USA
Business: Amazon
At the third spot among the top 10 billionaires in the world is Jeff Bezos. He created the e-commerce platform Amazon in 1994 and served as its CEO until July 2021. However, Bezos continues to be the company’s chairman. The same month, he became a part of the space race when he embarked on a voyage to the outer world in a rocket developed by Blue Origin, a company he funded heavily.
His wealth grew by USD 5.8 billion in December 2023 when Amazon share prices rose. In 2017, he surpassed Bill Gates to become the richest person in the world, according to Forbes World’s Billionaires list, and held the position till 2021.
Larry Ellison
Wealth: USD 131.6 billion
Business: Oracle
Larry Ellison co-founded software behemoth Oracle in 1994 and remained its CEO till 2014. Currently, he serves as the chairman and chief technology officer. Among large acquisitions that the company made under his tenure, the takeover of Sun Microsystems in 2010 for USD 7.4 billion was a notable achievement.
In 2012, Ellison made headlines when he purchased the Hawaiian island of Lanai for USD 300 million. He has also invested in Tesla and was a part of its board between 2018 and 2022.
Mark Zuckerberg
Wealth: USD 122 billion
Country: USA
Business: Facebook/Meta
Now the CEO of Meta Platforms, Mark Zuckerberg built his fortune with Facebook, which he co-founded in 2004. He took the company public in May 2012 and owns about 13 per cent of shares.
Meta also acquired WhatsApp and Instagram, adding a huge push to Zuckerberg’s wealth and by December 2016, he was ranked 10th on Forbes’ list of The World’s Most Powerful People. In January 2024, Forbes ranked him fifth among the top 10 billionaires in the world.
Warren Buffett
Wealth: USD 121.5 billion
Country: USA
Business: Berkshire Hathaway
Called the “Oracle of Omaha”, Warren Buffett is one of the most successful and richest investors in the world. The diverse portfolio of his investment behemoth Berkshire Hathaway includes Geico, battery manufacturer Duracell and restaurant chain Dairy Queen.
In 2010, he teamed up with Bill and Melinda Gates to create the Giving Pledge. It urges billionaires to give away at least half of their fortunes to charity. Buffet, who has pledged to donate 99 per cent of his fortune, has already delivered over USD 51.5 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stocks to the Gates Foundation and other charitable foundations.
Bill Gates
Wealth: USD 118.4 billion
Country: USA
Business: Microsoft/ Investments
The co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, was recognised as a billionaire by Forbes in 1987. He served as Microsoft chairman till 2014 and eventually dropped off the board in 2020, although he continues to hold a stake in the company.
Once the wealthiest person in the world for much of the period between 1995 and 2017, he is now the seventh richest. A philanthropist and investor, he has donated heavily to the Gates Foundation.
Larry Page
Wealth: USD 116.7 billion
Country: USA
Business: Google/Alphabet
The Google co-founder served as its CEO till 2001 and resumed the position between 2011 and 2015. Currently, Page is a part of the board of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and holds significant control over the company as a major shareholder.
Page was also a founding investor in the asteroid mining firm Planetary Resources, which was acquired by blockchain company ConsenSys in 2018.
Sergey Brin
Wealth: USD 112 billion
Country: USA
Business: Google/Alphabet
Brin, who co-founded Google with Page, was Alphabet’s first president and headed special projects, such as the development of Google Glass. He stepped down as president of Alphabet in December 2019 but serves as a board member and a significant shareholder.
Steve Ballmer
Wealth: USD 110.9 billion
Country: USA
Business: Microsoft/ Investments
The former CEO of Microsoft held his position from 2000 to 2014. The 30th employee of the company, Ballmer succeeded Bill Gates, who hired him in 1980 as the company’s first business manager.
He is credited for landing a deal with IBM to provide the operating system for Microsoft computers, overseeing the launch of the original Xbox and investing in cloud computing. He retired in 2013. The same year, he made a record for purchasing the NBA team Los Angeles Clippers for a whopping USD 2 billion.
All figures are as of 4 January 2024, according to the Forbes’ real-time billionaires list. Net worth and rates are subject to change on later dates.
(Hero image: Courtesy TechCrunch, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Suzanne Cordeiro/ AFP; Feature image: Courtesy TechCrunch, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
-Who are the top 10 richest people in the world?
According to Forbes, the top 10 richest people in the world are Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault and family, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Steve Ballmer.
-Who is the No. 1 billionaire now?
Elon Musk is currently the richest billionaire in the world.
-Who is the 12th richest man in the world?
According to Forbes, the 12th richest person in the world is Indian business mogul Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries.
-Is there a female billionaire?
The richest woman in the world is Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of France. She draws her wealth from large shareholdings in cosmetics giant L’Oreal and is the 14th richest person in the world, with a net worth of around USD 95.6 billion.
Source: Prestige Online
