As we move into 2024, we can expect another year dominated by the tech oligarchy who now make up the most influential people on the planet.
Elon Musk’s every move and utterance makes headline news, while his continuing rivalry with Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg adds a personal dimension to social media pronouncements - and to rich lists. The American website Forbes tracks the value of the ultra-wealthy - and here’s their running order on the first day of January 2024.
Forbes says: “Billionaires at the top of the Forbes list had a pretty good December - at least in terms of their stockholdings. As of January 1, 2024, seven of the world’s top 10 richest people are wealthier than they were a month ago. Together the world’s 10 richest people, according to Forbes, are worth $1.47 trillion as of the strike of midnight on January 1 - up from $1.44 trillion a month ago. The two biggest gainers in the past month (in dollar terms) were Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault; each is up $9.4bn compared with December 1 due to increases in the share price of their respective companies.”
Arnault was the world’s richest person at the start of last year, but was overtaken by Musk in June.
1. Clockwise from top left, Tesla and Space X's Elon Musk, LVMH's Bernard Arnault, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Meta/Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg
Clockwise from top left, Tesla and Space X's Elon Musk, LVMH's Bernard Arnault, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Meta/Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg
2. Elon Musk
Elon Musk has a net worth of $251.3bn. He’s the CEO of electric car firm Tesla, rocket firm Space X and social media platform X, which was Twitter. The 52-year-old lives in Texas and while he is currently the richest person in the world, his fortune was at peak worth $320bn. Photo: Getty
3. Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault, who owns luxury goods firm LVMH, is worth $200.7bn. He is 74 and lives in Paris, and among the brands owned by LVMH are Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moet & Chandon, Sephora and Tiffany & Co. Photo: via WikiCommons
4. Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, of which he was CEO until 2021, and is worth $168.4bn. He grew the company from an online bookseller to an all-encompassing shopping site, with spin-offs into Amazon Prime television. Bezos, 59, lives in Washington state in the US and now also owns the Washington Post.
5. Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison, who cofounded software firm Oracle in 1977, is the fourth richest man in the world with a $135.3bn net worth. The 79-year-old is still chairman and chief technology officer of the company. In 2012, Ellison bought the Hawaiian island of Lanai for $300 million and moved there, although still has homes in California. Photo: Chris Ison (PA)
6. Mark Zuckerburg
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is worth $125.3bn. He founded what was first called The Facebook while at Harvard University, and it is now the biggest special media platform in the world with 3.88bn users. Now 39, Zuckerberg has renamed Facebook’s parent company Meta and it also owns WhatsApp and Instagram. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged to help others cure, manage or prevent all disease by the end of this century. Photo: via WikiCommons