It was a strong year for the billionaires as the share prices of their companies touched record highs. While media and print houses continue to highlight ten biggest billionaire gainers, ~2,781 people on this year’s Billionaires list have combined net worth of ~$14.2 trillion in aggregate.
This exhibits a rise of $2 trillion against previous year and up $1.1 trillion from prior peak seen in 2021. Around 2/3rd of this list became richer over the previous year. It goes without saying that some of the people became richer by staggering amounts.
Which factors supported in increasing their net worth?
Only 10 people make up for ~$507 billion of the profits in the past year. Undoubtedly, 8 out of 10 belong to the US technology industry. Six of these are from the “Magnificent Seven.” Just to let our readers know, Magnificent Seven means the top 7 companies namely: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Tesla and Meta.
Stock prices to these companies saw a substantial increase as a result of AI frenzy which swept the technology world. Therefore, the majority of the ten biggest billionaire gainers belong to the tech and generative-AI industry. Their fortunes soared mainly because of the strong increase the shares of technology companies.
For example, Mark Zuckerberg’s, a name which needs no introduction, net worth went up by ~$112.6 billion. This was mainly because Meta’s shares tripled in value, after the company announced mass layoffs and optimism around AI and the metaverse.
Zuckerberg is now worth ~$177 billion, and is the world’s 4th wealthiest person. This means that he has jumped up 12 spots from number 16 last year.
Other technology tycoons that harnessed AI wave consist chip firm Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang. He came into the list of world’s 20 richest for the first time, with net worth growing by ~$56 billion more this year as compared to 2023.
List of Ten Biggest Billionaire Gainers 2024
Here is the list of ten biggest billionaire gainers of 2024, with an estimated gains in 2024 and their total net worths:
1. Mark Zuckerberg
At 39, Meta founder is now wealthier than ever. The company’s CEO announced that technology major will be spending billions on Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips. This will support Meta’s AI infrastructure.
Mr. Zuckerberg said Meta will increase the AI-computing power by integrating more of Nvidia’s H100 graphics processing units into the infrastructure by 2024 end. Facebook parent posted strong 4Q earnings report and the company has even announced a massive share buyback. Not only this, it has declared a dividend for the first time.
Overall, the company’s earnings report exhibited its “Year of Efficiency” changes which continued to pay off even beyond the investors’ expectations.
According to Forbes, Mark Zuckerberg total net worth is $177 Billion with an estimated gain since March 2023 is +$112.6 Billion from Facebook.
2. Jeff Bezos
The Amazon founder has become ~$80 billion richer as compared to the previous year. E-commerce giant’s shares makes up for ~85% of Jeff’s fortune. The company’s shares saw an increase of ~81% over previous year. This increase was mainly because of solid growth in e-commerce and cloud computing divisions.
Jeff Bezos total net worth is $194 Billion with an estimated gain since March 2023 is +$80 Billion from Amazon.
3. Jensen Huang
Huang’s name in the list of top ten biggest billionaire gainers was expected by the market experts this time. He cofounded Nvidia, the company which dominates the booming AI chip market. Shares of the company more than doubled over the previous year. Because of this, it market cap has surpassed $2 trillion mark in February 2024.
Breathless increase in the company’s stock price provided a realistic chance of becoming the largest US company. All things said and done, what is the main reason for the phenomenal rise in Nvidia’s stock? Well, in absolute terms, the artificial intelligence (AI)-fueled price action was the main reason.
The company saw a major rerating since the 2023 begun, because of its position as the pre-eminent supplier of the AI chips. Apart from this, its share price performance is supported by strong financials.
The company expects revenues of ~$24 billion in mid-point for fiscal 1Q25. Wall Street analysts believe that its revenues might exceed ~$100 billion this fiscal year.
Jensen Huang total net worth is $77 Billion with an estimated gain since March 2023 is +$55.9 Billion from Semiconductors.
4. Michael Dell
Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, was able to add ~$41 billion to the fortune. The company’s shares went up by more than ~200% as a result of strong demand for the company’s AI servers.
Apart from this, the company’s shares were boosted from selling Dell’s cloud computing division VMware to Broadcom, a semiconductor firm, for $69 billion. The company has positioned itself significantly well in AI. Demand for PCs having AI capabilities has been increasing.
Michael Dell total net worth is $91 Billion with an estimated gain since March 2023 is +$40.9 Billion from Facebook from Dell Technologies.
5. Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony Ballmer is American businessman and investor. He was the CEO of Microsoft between 2000 to 2014 and owner of Los Angeles Clippers of National Basketball Association.
Even though value of his LA Clippers team–the NBA’s fifth most valuable–increased ~20% to $4.65 billion in the prior year, much of $40 billion rise in his fortune was due to his holdings in Microsoft.
Shares went up by ~63% in the previous year, mainly because software giant’s $10 billion investment made in ChatGPT-developer OpenAI.
Steve Ballmer total net worth is $121 Billion with an estimated gain since March 2023 is +$40.3 Billion from Microsoft.
6. Prajogo Pangestu
Indonesian billionaire’s fortune went up from $5.3 billion in previous year to $43.4 billion. Because of this significant surge, he was able to jump ~400 spots in ranking to world’s No. 27 richest. He was able to take 2 firms public on Indonesia Stock Exchange in the previous year: coal miner Petrindo Jaya Kreasi in March and Barito Renewables Energy in October. This company owns country’s largest geothermal energy producer.
Prajogo Pangestu total net worth is $43.4 Billion with an estimated gain since March 2023 is +$38.1 Billion from Petrochemicals in energy sector.
7. Gautam Adani
Allegations related to financial fraud and stock manipulation by the US short seller Hindenburg Research in the previous year led to a decline in shares of Adani Group’s 10 listed firms. As a result of this, in early 2023, the half of this wealth was wiped out.
However, since December 2023, the shares rallied as Supreme Court gave the decision in the company’s favour. He has a current fortune of ~$84 billion.
Gautam Adani total net worth is $84 Billion with an estimated gain since March 2023 is +$36.8 Billion from Infrastructure and commodities.
8. Larry Page
He is the Google co-founder and was the former CEO of parent company, Alphabet. Shares of Alphabet increased 50% in the past year. As a result of this stock jump, he jumped 2 spots from number 12 to number 10.
Larry Page total net worth is $114 Billion with an estimated gain since March 2023 is +$34.8 Billion from Google.
9. Sergey Brin
He is a Google cofounder and is the tech giant’s 2nd largest individual shareholder. His net worth stands at ~$110 billion, which exhibits a rise of $34 billion since March 2023.
Sergey Brin total net worth is $110 Billion with an estimated gain since March 2023 is +$34 Billion from Google.
10. Larry Ellison
The Oracle co-founder is the company’s largest shareholder, owning ~42% of the company. Increased demand for Oracle’s cloud computing services—as a result of generative AI push—helped the company’s shares grow by 34%. Since March 2023, his net worth has increased by $34 billion.
Larry Ellison total net worth is $141 Billion with an estimated gain since March 2023 is +$34 Billion from Oracle.