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World's 500 Richest Individuals Surpass $10 Trillion in Wealth in 2024, Driven by Tech Moguls and Trump's Election

Dec 31, 2024, 06:04 PM

In 2024, the collective wealth of the world's 500 richest individuals surpassed $10 trillion, marking a historic milestone. This surge was primarily driven by a boom in U.S. technology stocks and the electoral victory of Donald Trump. Leading the charge were tech moguls Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jensen Huang, whose fortunes significantly contributed to the group's combined net worth. Musk, in particular, saw his wealth increase to $442.1 billion, a rise of $213 billion from the start of the year, largely due to his close relationship with the incoming president, which boosted the value of his companies including Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI. The S&P 500 index rose by 24% in 2024, with a group of stocks dubbed the 'Seven Magnificents'—including Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia—accounting for over half of the index's performance. Eight tech giants alone gained more than $600 billion, representing 43% of the total $1.5 trillion increase among the 500 richest. Trump's election win also triggered a historic rally in digital assets, pushing Bitcoin above $100,000 for the first time, benefiting cryptocurrency billionaires like Changpeng Zhao of Binance and Brian Armstrong of Coinbase. The billionaires represented in the index gained a combined $505 billion in the five weeks following the election, accounting for 34% of the annual total. The S&P 500 reached a record high on November 6, marking its best post-election performance in history.