The richest people in the world had a resurgence in this year.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the collective net worth of the 500 richest individuals increased by $1.5 trillion in 2023, entirely recovering from the $1.4 trillion lost the year before.
Once more, their success was directly tied to the performance of IT stocks, which broke new highs this year in spite of concerns about a recession, persistent inflation, high interest rates, and unstable geopolitical conditions. The tremendous buzz surrounding artificial intelligence drove the growth of wealth for tech billionaires, resulting in a 48% increase to $658 billion.
Nobody did it better than Elon Musk, who defeated French luxury magnate Bernard Arnault to reclaim the title of richest person in the world. After losing $138 billion in 2022, the CEO of Tesla Inc. made an additional $95.4 billion by Thursday's end, helped by the company's success and that of SpaceX. After shares of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE were negatively impacted by a global slowdown in demand for luxury goods, his net worth has now surpassed Arnault's by more than $50 billion.
The creator of Amazon.com Inc., Jeff Bezos, increased his wealth by over $70 billion this year and is currently tied for second position with Arnault; Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., had a rise in wealth of over $80 billion.
Some boats were left behind by the rising tide. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani suffered losses of $37.3 billion for the entire year and $21 billion on January 27 alone as a result of short-seller Hindenburg Research's destruction of the Adani Group's worth. He still has an eleven-figure fortune, though.
What is ahead for the world's wealthiest individuals in 2024? Here are some of the names to keep an eye on, though it's hard to say for sure because few would have predicted such a significant rebound in 2023:
Adelson, Miriam
Following the passing of her husband Sheldon in 2021, Ms. Adelson, 78, acquired the majority of shares in the company that operates casinos, Las Vegas Sands Corp. This year, after being quiet for a while, Ms. Adelson courted Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley and struck a deal to purchase a $3.5 billion majority share in the Dallas Mavericks. She now has a $34.3 billion net worth.
Meyers, Francoise Bettencourt
Ms. Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is the richest woman on the earth and the first to have a net worth in the twelve figures. She is the heir apparent to the L'Oréal fortune. Her fortune is a direct outcome of France's booming fashion and beauty industries, which have elevated the Wertheimer brothers of Chanel, LVMH's Arnault, and the Hermès family into the ultrawealthy. This year, her wealth increased by 40% as L'Oréal's stock reached a record high.
Steve Cohen
Point72 Asset Management's founder is heavily invested in both emerging and old emerging York dynasties. After years of poor performance, Mr. Cohen, 67, owner of the New York Mets, is trying to turn the baseball team around. In an effort to obtain one of the few available new casino licenses in the state, he is also teaming up with Hard Rock International, offering disgruntled Mets supporters the opportunity to gambling away their sorrows. In 2023, his net worth reached $13.9 billion.
Mark Cuban
Born and raised in Mount Lebanon, Mr. Cuban, 65, has a penchant for exiting ventures at the precise moment. He sold his radio streaming business, Broadcast.com, just before the dot-com bubble burst. Before selling the Dallas Mavericks to Adelson for $3.5 billion in 2000, he had paid $285 million for them in 2000 and had won three division crowns, two conference championships, and an NBA championship. (He will maintain a little ownership.) It remains to be seen if this turns out to be just another strategically planned bargain. This year, his wealth increased to $6.8 billion.
Carl Icahn
The activist investor had a difficult year after short-seller Hindenburg Research started a collapse that destroyed $18.1 billion of his wealth, including over $10 billion in a single day. Nevertheless, there's still a lot of fight left in the 87-year-old. According to people familiar with the situation, he plans to begin a fresh proxy fight to gain control of Illumina Inc.'s board after the DNA sequencing firm canceled an expensive purchase that Mr. Icahn had opposed.
Robert Murdoch
The 92-year-old founder of News Corp. has handed over leadership to his son Lachlan by officially retiring. With Joe Biden and Donald Trump vying for the presidency once more, the heir is in for a difficult year. Fox Corp. and Dominion Voting Systems have already reached a settlement of $787.5 million. The business had accused the network of publicizing untrue allegations that it had rigged the vote against Mr. Trump. Fox continues to face legal action in a related matter from Smartmatic Corp. Rupert Murdoch's wealth has been unaffected by the issue; in 2023, it increased to $8.9 billion.
Son Masayoshi
The Japanese investor placed a large wager on WeWork, which formally failed in 2023. Since he kept funding Adam Neumann's remote work company despite it being obviously in trouble, many have questioned his judgment. The 66-year-old founder of SoftBank Group Corp. will probably face more difficulties when acquisitions stop coming in. However, he has previously climbed back out of more difficult situations after losing tens of billions of dollars in the dot-com bust. This year, Mr. Son's wealth dropped to $11.4 billion.
Trump, Donald
Even if the current candidate and former president lost the 2020 election, his finances have only become better. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows that since 2021, his wealth has increased by $500 million, bringing his total net worth to $3.1 billion. Even so, Trump, 77, will have challenges in 2024 as he defends himself in cases pertaining to his attempts to rig the 2020 election, his slander of author E. Jean Carroll, and purported fraud.
Zhao Changpeng "CZ"
For the 46-year-old founder of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, it was a difficult year in many respects. CZ and Binance entered guilty pleas to charges of money laundering and violating US sanctions in November. He consented to give up his position as CEO and pay a $50 million fine on his own on top of the $4.3 billion that Binance will need to pay. Even though he might go to jail in 2024, the rise in cryptocurrency this year increased his wealth by around $25 billion.
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