Tech giants drive historic surge in billionaire wealth
The total wealth of the world’s 500 richest people surpassed 10 trillion USD for the first time, with their fortunes increasing by 1.5 trillion USD in 2024. The biggest gains were made by tech giants, led by Elon Musk. Among the richest were 16 Russians, according to "Bloomberg."
Bloomberg Agency calculated that the total wealth of the world's 500 richest individuals in 2024 reached a record level of over 10 trillion USD (approximately 14.4 trillion CAD). Over the past year, their fortunes grew by 1.5 trillion USD (approximately 2.2 trillion CAD).
Tech giants at the top of the list
Most of the wealth increases were linked to technology leaders, whose companies accounted for 43 percent of the total growth in billionaires' fortunes. Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, topped the list with an estimated fortune of 432 billion USD (approximately 623 billion CAD). In 2024, his wealth grew by an impressive 203 billion USD (approximately 293 billion CAD).
Following him were Jeff Bezos from Amazon (239 billion USD, or approximately 345 billion CAD) and Mark Zuckerberg from Meta (207 billion USD, or approximately 299 billion CAD). Among the biggest winners in technology are Jen-Hsun Huang from Nvidia Corporation and Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google.
Russian billionaires among the richest
The 500 richest people included 16 Russians. Among them, Pavel Durov, founder of the Telegram platform, increased his wealth by 1.85 billion USD (approximately 2.67 billion CAD) to 11 billion USD (approximately 15.9 billion CAD).
However, not everyone recorded gains. The greatest losses were experienced by Gennady Timchenko, whose wealth fell by 3.17 billion USD (approximately 4.57 billion CAD). The fortunes of Suleyman Kerimov (a drop of 725 million USD, approximately 1.05 billion CAD) and Roman Abramovich (a drop of 623 million USD, approximately 899 million CAD) also decreased.
Despite some losses, most Russian billionaires increased their fortunes. Leonid Fedun gained 994 million USD (approximately 1.44 billion CAD), boosting his wealth to 10.8 billion USD (approximately 15.57 billion CAD). German Khan expanded his fortune by 1.7 billion USD (approximately 2.45 billion CAD), reaching 14.4 billion CAD.
US elections impacted billionaires' fortunes
Donald Trump's victory became a catalyst for historic growth in the digital asset market, significantly increasing the value of Bitcoin, which exceeded 100,000 USD for the first time.
As a result, the financial standing of billionaires in the cryptocurrency industry strengthened. Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ from Binance Holdings, saw his wealth increase by 60 percent, reaching 55 billion USD. In the case of Brian Armstrong, co-founder of Coinbase Global Inc., his fortune increased by over 50 percent, reaching 14.4 billion CAD.
After the November 6th elections, the S&P 500 index reached a historic high. Billionaires in the index gained a total of 505 billion USD within five weeks after the elections, accounting for 34 percent of the annual growth of their fortunes, according to Bloomberg.
