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In 2024, the Rich largely got richer as tech stocks soared and markets took a post-election bump.
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However, some luxury titans have lost billions during an industry downturn.
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Here are the year’s biggest billionaire winners and losers, based on their net worth.
2024 was a good year to be a billionaire.
The S&P 500 gained 25% this year, while the Nasdaq grew 33%. The uber-wealthy, many of whom are invested in companies on every index, benefited enormously.
The five billionaires who acquired the most wealth in 2024 saw their net worth increase by a combined $542 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index from December 27
These billionaires all come from the tech sector, where AI fever and a meeting after the elections has pushed many stocks to record highs.
However, there were those whose fortunes took a hit. Some billionaires where the money comes from luxury retailwhich struggled this year, losing billions by double digits.
Here are the billionaires who won and lost the most this year – and how much their fortunes changed on December 27.
The biggest winners of the year are…
Elon Musk: $239 billion richer
Elon Muskwhich is worth $468 billion, will almost double its net worth by 2024, thanks in no small part to the stock market rally following Donald Trump’s election victory. Since Election Day, he has become more than $200 billion richer.
His fortune consists mainly of Tesla stocks and shares in SpaceX. Although electric vehicle sales have slowed, Tesla’s stock price is up more than 70% this year. SpaceXhas since doubled in value in the past year and is now reportedly worth $350 billion.
Musk, who has donated more than $200 million to Trump’s reelection efforts, has become an adviser to the newly elected president, who has tapped him and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead his newly created Department of Government Efficiency. Investors are optimistic that his relationship with the commander-in-chief will benefit his businesses.
Mark Zuckerberg: $85 billion richer
Mark Zuckerberg benefits from the success of Meta’s strong year. The CEO, who is worth $213 billion, owns about 13% of the company’s stock, making him the largest individual shareholder.
Metas The share price is up more than 70% this year thanks to strong advertising activity and further development of AI. The company announced its first-ever dividend in February and share prices have hit record highs several times this year.
Jensen Huang: $78 billion richer
The AI boom has produced a new centibillionaire this year in Jensen Huang, who is worth $122 billion.
The CEO and co-founder of Nvidia owns about 3.5% of the company, whose share price is up more than 175% this year thanks to its dominance in the AI chip industry.