World’s Richest People Got $1.5T Wealthier in 2023 with Elon Musk Leading the Way

By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

Bloomberg Billionaires Index was updated to show that in 2023, the net worth of the world’s 500 richest people jumped in total by about $1.5 trillion this year.  As reported by the NY Post, the impressive gains for the billionaires was a stark contrast from 2022 when the billionaires had lost $ 1.4 trillion over the year.

Tech tycoon Elon Musk, who had famously purchased Twitter renaming it X, was again named the richest person in the world.  Over the year, he saw his fortune grow $95.4 billion, to reach $229 billion.   His gains were largely attributed to his 12.95% stake in Tesla, which made big strides this year.  Tesla’s stock price soared to $248, marking a whopping 130% gain since last year.  Musk, 52, who has citizenship in South Africa, Canada and the U.S., is also the founder and chief engineer of SpaceX, The Boring Company, and xAI, and is co-founder of Neuralink, OpenAI, Zip2, and X.com (which is part of PayPal).  Musk’s impressive wealth growth over the year, came despite losses in the social media platform X, which saw its ad sales plummet some $2.5 billion when advertisers fled over claims that antisemitic content ran rampant.

The second richest on the Bloomberg Billionaire list is Bernard Arnault, with a net worth of $179B as of Dec 31, 2023.  Arnault, who had had briefly made the number 1 spot on the list, topping Musk in Dec. 2022, is the74-year-old French founder and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury goods company.  His personal wealth grew $17 billion year to date, which was a modest gain compared to the other billionaires, especially in the tech sector.

The tech sector saw fantastic growth this year, propelled by the artificial intelligence boom, which helped further enrich a handful of tech billionaires.  Amazon founder Jeff Bezos rose to No. 3 in the world, boasting a net worth of $177 billion, gaining some $71.3 billion over the year.  Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, was in 4th place, with $141 Billion, gaining just $217 million.   Microsoft’s wins this year were also a win for its former CEO Steve Ballmer, who still owns about a 4% share in the tech giant, putting Ballmer at No. 5 with $131 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg, head of Meta (formerly Facebook) saw his net worth jump $84 billion in 2023, leaving him with $128 billion, and making him rank sixth on the world billionaire list.  Google-parent Alphabet, another tech behemoth, also saw its co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, on the top of the 2023 ranking, at No. 7 and No. 9 respectively with $126 billion and $120 billion, marking a $43 billion and $40 billion gain respectively.  Number 8 on the list was Larry Ellison, co-founder of software company Oracle Corp, with a $123 billion net worth, posting gains of $30 billion year to date.  The top ten was rounded off with Warren Buffet, the 93-year-old co-founder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.  He boasted a net worth of $120 billion, up $12 billion over the year.

Mexican telecommunicates magnate Carlos Slim held Number 11 on Bloomberg’s list, with $105 billion, up about $31 billion over the year.  His holdings are equal to about 7% of Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product.

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers shot up to No. 12, becoming the first woman to ever crack the $100 billion barrier.