Space X and Tesla boss Elon Musk remains the most richest person in the world, according to the 2024 list compiled by the leading international magazine, Forbes.
As of January 1, 2024, the net worth of all ten richest persons in the world had reached $1.47 trillion, with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg reaching 5th position, taking over from Microsoft boss Bill Gates.
Highlights of the publication indicate that seven of the world’s top 10 richest people “are wealthier” than they were in December 2023.
“Their fortunes collectively rose by $30 billion during December—a much smaller jump than the $115 billion rise during November 2023,” it said.
The worth of each of the ten personalities is above $100 billion, the report noted.
According to Forbes, Bernard Arnault, the French luxury goods magnate, used to hold the top spot by the first half of 2023 but was taken over by Elon Musk that year. His net worth is estimated at $200.7 billion, while Elon Musk stands at 251.3 billion.
Bernard Arnault is the CEO and chairman of LVMH, with more than 70 luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Tiffany & Co. and Sephora, and others.
Software tycoon Larry Ellison, of Oracle, currently No. 4 on the list, was reported as the “biggest loser” among the top ten as his fortune fell by $11.2 billion during December.
There are no females on the top ten list. Nine out of the ten richest people in the world are Americans, with Amazon‘s Jeff Bezos ranking No. 4.
India’s Gautam Adani reportedly fell from the third richest in the world is now ranked No. 16 in the world as of January 1, 2024.
93-year-old Warren Buffett is ranked No. 7 with a net worth of $118.6 billion. He runs the investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, which owns dozens of companies and is considered one of the most successful investors.
Google co-founder Larry Page, is ranked No. 8 with $117.2 billion. The 50-year-old cofounded the search engine Google with fellow Stanford PhD student Sergey Brin in 1998 and served as CEO until 2001 and from 2011 to 2015. He now serves as a board member of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and continues to be a controlling shareholder.
In the 9th position, Sergey Brin is valued at $112.4 billion. The US citizen stepped down as president of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, in December 2019 but remains a controlling shareholder and a board member, according to public records.
He cofounded Google with Larry Page in 1998 after the two met at Stanford University while studying for advanced degrees in computer science.
Last but not least is Steve Ballmer, who holds the 10th position on the list. His net worth is estimated at $112.2 billion.
The 67-year-old is a classmate of Bill Gates at Harvard University. He joined Microsoft as employee number 30 in 1980 after dropping out of the MBA program at Stanford University. He ran Microsoft as its CEO from 2000 to 2014.
Forbes has been keeping track of the world’s billionaires since 1987 and currently has 2,640 personalities on its annual list.