The planet has a document 2,781 billionaires who’re price a document $14.2 trillion. Right here’s who’s up, who’s down, who’s new and who’s off the rating.
By Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes Employees
It’s been a banner 12 months for the mega-wealthy. Forbes discovered an unprecedented 2,781 billionaires across the globe for this 12 months’s World’s Billionaires list—141 greater than in 2023 and 26 greater than the earlier document, set in 2021. The super-rich are additionally richer than ever, with their mixed wealth hitting $14.2 trillion—$2 trillion greater than only a 12 months in the past and $1.1 trillion above the earlier document, additionally set in 2021.
As with the economic system normally, the cash is concentrated on the very high. There at the moment are a document 14 people who find themselves members of the $100 Billion Membership, the elite group of individuals whose fortunes stretch into 12 digits. That’s up from only one 4 years in the past. These fortunate few are price $2 trillion in all, which means simply 0.5% of the world’s 2,781 billionaires maintain 14% of all billionaire wealth.
The richest of all is Bernard Arnault, who holds the No. 1 spot for the second 12 months in a row. The French luxurious items kingpin is price an estimated $233 billion, $22 billion greater than in 2023 thanks to a different document 12 months for his conglomerate LVMH, the corporate behind manufacturers equivalent to Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. and Sephora. He’s $38 billion richer than the world’s No. 2, Elon Musk, who’s price an estimated $195 billion. Simply behind him, at No. 3, is Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who’s price an estimated $194 billion. Forbes used inventory costs and change charges from March 8, 2024 for this 12 months’s rating. (For day by day actions of fortunes, see our Real-Time tracker.)
Two-thirds of the planet’s billionaires are richer than a 12 months in the past. Nobody has gained extra, in sheer greenback phrases, than Mark Zuckerberg, who has benefited—to the tune of a $116.2 billion soar in a single 12 months—because of Meta inventory practically tripling amid cost-cutting layoffs and massive bets on AI and the metaverse. Zuck is No. 4 on Forbes’ 2024 rating, price an estimated $177 billion, the richest he’s ever been. Oracle’s Larry Ellison, price an estimated $141 billion, rounds out the highest 5.
WORLDWIDE BILLIONAIRE WEALTH
Zuckerberg and Ellison are simply two of the scores of expertise moguls who’re considerably richer than a 12 months in the past. The AI gold rush is on, serving to so as to add greater than a dozen newcomers working in synthetic intelligence to the ranks, together with Tremendous Micro Pc’s Charles Liang (price an estimated $6.1 billion)—and his spouse, Sara Liu ($1.5 billion); Superior Micro Gadget’s Lisa Su ($1.3 billion); and longtime Nvidia board member Harvey Jones ($1 billion). OpenAI’s Sam Altman can be now a billionaire, because of investments he made when he was president of startup incubator Y Combinator from 2014 to 2019, an early wager on Stripe and stakes in Reddit and nuclear fusion startup Helion. Rabid demand for AI has additionally boosted tech shares usually, pushing the mixed wealth of the world’s tech billionaires up by some $750 billion—to $2.6 trillion, greater than every other business—in only a 12 months.
Celebrities are getting richer, too. Taylor Swift ($1.1 billion) joins the 2024 ranks—the primary musician to do it based mostly solely on songwriting and performing—after the record-breaking first leg of her Eras tour. TV producer Dick Wolf ($1.2 billion), the mastermind behind reveals equivalent to Regulation & Order and Chicago, can be new to the billionaires listing, as is Magic Johnson, the NBA hall-of-famer who actually made his stash after retirement, by means of savvy enterprise offers and stakes in a number of sports activities groups, among the best paths to getting wealthy(er). They be part of practically a dozen different well-known A-list billionaires, together with George Lucas ($5.5 billion), Michael Jordan ($3.2 billion) and Kim Kardashian ($1.7 billion).
In all, 265 contemporary faces are new to the World’s Billionaires. The richest of all is Italy’s Andrea Pignataro, a former Salomon Brothers bond dealer behind monetary software program agency ION Group. He’s price an estimated $27.5 billion. Different notable newcomers embrace the founding father of the Elevating Cane’s fast-food chain Todd Graves ($9.1 billion); Maggie Gu, Molly Miao and Ren Xiaoqing ($4.2 billion every)—three cofounders of fast-fashion big Shein; iconic high-heel designer Christian Louboutin ($1.2 billion); and Elon Musk pal, and Tesla and SpaceX investor, Antonio Gracias ($1.1 billion).
The United States is, as soon as once more, the nation with essentially the most billionaire residents, with a record-breaking 813, price $5.7 trillion (in comparison with 735, price $4.5 trillion, in 2023). China stays second, regardless of troubles within the Asian nation, with 473 (together with Hong Kong) price $1.7 trillion. India, in the meantime, is surging. There at the moment are 200 Indian billionaires, essentially the most ever, price $954 billion.
WHERE ARE THE BILLIONAIRES
The USA nonetheless boasts the best variety of billionaires, with a document 813, adopted by mainland China (406), India (200) and Germany (132).
Ladies are nonetheless woefully underrepresented, accounting for simply 369 of the planet’s 2,781 billionaires—or about 13%, the identical as final 12 months. The richest lady is as soon as once more Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the Recent heiress to the L’Oréal fortune. She’s price an estimated $99.5 billion. The richest self-made lady stays Swiss transport tycoon Rafaela Aponte-Diamant ($33.1 billion).
General, 66% of the world’s billionaires are self-made–which means they based or cofounded their firm or established their very own fortune, fairly than inheriting it–down from 69% in 2023. That features practically all 17 of the cryptocurrency billionaires on the 2024 listing, who’ve come roaring out of the “crypto winter,” because of Bitcoin and different crypto belongings buying and selling at document highs.
One purpose behind the declining share of self-made billionaires is the beginning of the good wealth switch all over the world. For example, when Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi died final 12 months, his 5 youngsters took his place within the ranks. The common age of a billionaire is 66. The oldest listing member is 102-year-old insurance coverage tycoon George Joseph ($1.7 billion), one in every of 425 people who find themselves 80 or older. The youngest billionaire across the globe is 19-year-old Livia Voigt, a Brazilian heiress whose grandfather cofounded electrical tools producer WEG. Nonetheless in college, she’s two months older than the second-youngest billionaire Forbes discovered, Clemente Del Vecchio, one in every of a number of heirs to the fortune of Leonardo Del Vecchio, the founding father of eyewear colossus EssilorLuxottica. There are 25 folks on the listing who’re 33 years previous or youthful, although solely 7 are self-made (none of whom are below 30).
Nonetheless—even in such increase instances for billionaire wealth—chapter, scandal and inventory crashes helped knock 189 folks off the Forbes listing. Amongst them: Bolt’s Ryan Breslow, whose cost startup has unraveled; bankrupt Austrian actual property mogul Rene Benko; and Hui Ka Yan, the embattled chairman of property developer China’s troubled Evergrande Group. One other 32 folks from the 2023 listing died over the previous 12 months, together with former President of Chile Sebastián Piñera, Intel cofounder Gordon Moore, investor Charlie Munger and singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett.
Forbes’ World’s Billionaires listing is a rating of each individual on the planet with a web price of $1 billion U.S. {dollars} or extra as of March 8, 2024. When potential, we met with billionaires in individual or spoke with them just about or by telephone. We additionally interviewed their workers, handlers, asset managers and monetary advisors, rivals, friends and attorneys. Uncovering their fortunes required us to pore over hundreds of Securities and Trade Fee and different regulatory paperwork, court docket filings, probate information and information articles. We took into consideration all sorts of belongings: stakes in private and non-private firms, actual property, artwork, yachts, planes, ranches, vineyards, jewellery, automotive collections and extra. We factored in recognized debt and charitable giving. We exclude dispersed household fortunes, although we listing wealth belonging to the fast household of the residing founding father of a fortune below the founder’s identify. In some instances, we additionally embrace wealth held by the fast member of the family of an inheritor. In both of these cases, you’ll see “& household” in an individual’s itemizing.
For the complete listing of the world’s 2,781 billionaires, see here.
