Elon Musk is on a different level this year. The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX added $119 billion to his fortune in 2024. This brought his net worth to $348 billion. That’s not just a number. It’s more than the entire fortune of technology icon Michael Dell. Let that sink in.
However, Musk is not the only one to achieve this. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the world’s top ten wealth gainers have seen their fortunes grow by a combined $585 billion this year. For context: that’s more than the market value of giants like Exxon Mobil or Oracle. Big names like Larry Ellison, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg are also on the list.
Here’s how it breaks down:
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The big players
Musk, of course, leads the pack. His enormous increase in wealth is due to the success of Tesla and SpaceX. But Oracle’s Larry Ellison isn’t far behind. He added $83.2 billion to his fortune this year. Ellison’s smart bet on Tesla and Oracle’s cloud businesses positions him as a major player in AI and has been a gold mine. His net worth now stands at $206 billion.
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang is often called the king of AI chips. He also had a fantastic year. Nvidia shares rose 187%. This added almost $80 billion to his wealth. Huang is riding the AI boom like a champion with a net worth of $124 billion.
Then there’s Zuckerberg. Meta is booming thanks to big bets on AI and the metaverse, adding $70 billion to its wallet, bringing its total to a staggering $198 billion.
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Who is catching up?
Jeff Bezos may not be in the news all that often, but he has quietly added $41.7 billion this year, thanks to Amazon’s AI-focused initiatives. Walmart heirs Jim, Alice and Rob Walton joined the party, each earning about $40 billion thanks to the retailer’s shares rising 72% this year.
What drives this?
AI and Trump’s re-election buzz are the clear winners here. From Tesla and Nvidia riding the AI wave to Meta and Oracle leveraging new technologies, it’s been a year in which innovation and strategic moves have paid off.
The surprising takeaway
While Musk dominates, players like Jensen Huang and the Walton siblings are also making waves. If there’s one thing this year has shown: the prosperity race is not just about who is at the top, but also about who makes smart moves to get there.
