The 5 Richest Billionaires In The World 2024

Forbes

What a year it’s been for the planet’s billionaires, whose fortunes continue to swell as global stock markets shrug off war, political unrest and lingering inflation. There are now more billionaires than ever: 2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021. They’re richer than ever, worth $14.2 trillion in aggregate, up by $2 trillion from 2023 and $1.1 trillion above the previous record, also set in 2021. Two-thirds of the list’s members are worth more than a year ago; only one fourth are poorer. Much of the gains come from the top 20, who added a combined $700 billion in wealth since 2023, and from the U.S., which now boasts a record 813 billionaires worth a combined $5.7 trillion. China remains second, with 473 (including Hong Kong) worth $1.7 trillion, despite weak consumer spending and a real estate bust that helped wipe out $200 billion in wealth and knocked 89 billionaires from the ranks. India, which has 200 billionaires (also a record), ranks third.To calculate net worths, we used stock prices and exchange rates from March 8, 2024. See below for the full list of the world’s billionaires and our methodology. For daily updated net worths of all 2,781 billionaires, check out our real-time billionaires rankings.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2024/04/02/the-100-billion-club-these-14-people-have-12-figure-fortunes/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00 There are some things that only money can buy, such as a membership in the $100 billion club,

00:06 the elite class of billionaires who have 12-figure fortunes.

00:10 This year, a record 14 people worldwide qualify.

00:14 That's up from six last year, and just one in 2020.

00:19 Many of them struck it rich by starting tech companies.

00:23 As a group, the planet's billionaires are 120% richer than they were a decade ago.

00:29 But these 14, whose wealth is up 255% over the same stretch,

00:34 have done much better than the average billionaire.

00:37 Their net worths have far outpaced inflation and the broader stock market,

00:44 placing them in the company of NFL franchises in terms of skyrocketing value.

00:51 These 14 individuals are worth $2 trillion in all,

00:55 meaning just 0.5% of the world's 2,781 billionaires hold 14% of all billionaire wealth.

01:04 It took the dot-com bubble to create the first centibillionaire, Bill Gates,

01:09 whose Microsoft shares briefly pushed him beyond 11 figures in 1999,

01:14 before the crash chopped his net worth nearly in half.

01:18 No one would come close for almost two decades,

01:21 even as markets soared before and after the Great Recession.

01:25 Jeff Bezos finally cracked the code anew in late 2017,

01:29 becoming the second hundred-billionaire when Amazon rocketed towards $1 trillion in market capitalization.

01:36 Still, it took until 2021 for the hundred-billion-dollar club to expand beyond Bezos,

01:42 when Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, and Bill Gates made the grade.

01:47 Here are the top five richest billionaires in the world.

01:52 At number five is Larry Ellison.

01:55 A decade after stepping down as Oracle's CEO,

01:58 Ellison is still chairman, CTO, and its largest shareholder, with 40% of the company.

02:05 Oracle's stock is up 34%,

02:07 and it threw off more than $1 billion pre-tax in dividends to Ellison over the last 12 months,

02:13 helping make him $34 billion wealthier.

02:17 At number four is Mark Zuckerberg.

02:20 After Meta's stock plunged 75% from its 2021 peak,

02:25 Zuckerberg laid off almost a quarter of its staff,

02:28 while maintaining huge bets on AI and the Metaverse.

02:32 Shares nearly tripled over the past year,

02:34 making Zuck, at 39, the wealthiest he has ever been.

02:39 At number three is Jeff Bezos.

02:42 The Amazon founder struck gold this year in terms of both wealth and sunshine.

02:47 He's $80 billion richer thanks to a 93% jump in his e-commerce leviathan stock.

02:54 Meanwhile, he spent $150 million buying homes on Miami's billionaire Bunker Island

03:00 as part of a move to sunny, tax-friendly Florida after three decades in drizzly Seattle.

03:07 At number two is Elon Musk.

03:10 Musk is a long way from November 2021,

03:13 when he became the first person ever worth $300 billion.

03:17 Since then, he has gained and lost the world's richest title several times over,

03:22 as his bold bets have either taken flight or fizzled.

03:26 In January, a Delaware judge voided his 2018 award of Tesla stock options,

03:31 worth $46 billion today.

03:34 Forbes has discounted the shares by 50%, pending Musk's appeal.

03:40 And at number one is Bernard Arnault.

03:44 The richest person in the world for the second year in a row,

03:47 Arnault's wealth grew by 10% in 2023,

03:51 thanks to another record year for his luxury conglomerate LVMH,

03:55 which owns Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Sephora.

04:00 Last year, the fashion giant announced $16.5 billion in net profit on $94 billion in revenue.

04:08 Arnault cemented his succession plan to keep family control in January

04:13 when he proposed adding his sons, Alexandre and Frédéric, to LVMH's board,

04:18 where they would join his two eldest children, Antoine and Delphine.

04:23 (music)

04:35 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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