The American magazine specialized in the world of business and finance recently published its annual ranking of the richest people in the world. Bernard Arnault was positioned at the top of the list in 2024. According to the report from Forbes, there are currently a total of 2,781 people with fortunes exceeding USD 1,000 million. This year there was an increase of 141 billionaires compared to the previous year, also exceeding the record number established in 2021 by 26 people.
“There are more billionaires than ever“, he pointed Forbes in the article. Additionally, the magazine highlighted the growing wealth accumulated by these magnates. “Billionaires are richer than ever, with an added value of 14.2 trillion dollars, 2 trillion more than in 2023 and 1.1 trillion over the previous record, reached in 2021,” the publication stated. This increase not only highlights the expansion of their individual fortunes, but also a significant increase in collective wealth on a global scale.
Regarding the geographical distribution of these fortunes, The United States continues to lead the ranking with the highest number of billionaires and has 813 in its territory. China is in second place with 473 high net worth individuals, while India is in third place with a total of 200 high net worth individuals.
- Bernard Arnault (LVMH)
- Elon Musk (Tesla)
- Jeff Bezos (Amazon)
- Mark Zuckerberg (Meta)
- Larry Ellison (Oracle)
- Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway)
- Bill Gates (Microsoft)
- Steve Ballmer (Microsoft)
- Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries)
- Larry Page (Google)
The fortune of the French magnate, Bernard Arnaulthad 10% growth in the last year, further solidifying his position as the richest person in the world.
The head of the luxury conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) has a net worth that is now estimated at USD 233,000 million. Arnault clearly surpasses other tycoons in the ranking of billionaires. The 75 fashion and cosmetic brands that he has under his domain include Louis Vuitton, Christian Diorand Sephora. In 2021, Arnault bought Tiffany & Co. for $15.8 billion, believed to be the largest acquisition of a luxury brand ever made.
Elon Musk He is known for being the brain behind revolutionary companies like tesla, SpaceXand recently from the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Musk bought Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion. He owns approximately 74% of the company, now called X. According to a study he conducted Forbes In 2023, Musk’s stake in X is now estimated to be worth almost 70% less than what he paid for it.
The technology magnate had remained in first place until this year, since his fortune had a significant change in his net worth and he fell to second place. This change comes after a court ruling on January 30, 2024 that voided his salary of almost USD 51 billion. To date, Musk’s fortune is estimated at 195 billion dollars.
Third place belongs to the American tycoon Jeff Bezos. He is the founder of amazon and the aerospace company Blue Origin. He is also the owner of The Washington Post.
His fortune is estimated to be 194 billion dollars, according to recent data. This considerable sum of assets had positioned him, in July 2017, as the richest person in the world and surpassed Bill Gatesthe famous creator of Microsoft.
In 2019 he won first place on the magazine’s “Innovative Leaders” list. Forbes for his work with Amazon. He currently owns just under 10% of the company as he steps down as CEO in 2021.
