As of January 2024, Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and X (previously known as Twitter), was the richest person in the global tech industry with an estimated net worth of 217 billion U.S. dollars. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, followed with a net worth of 180 billion U.S. dollars. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, ranked third with a net worth of 142 billion U.S. dollars.
Elon Musk and Twitter/X
On October 27th, 2022, Elon Musk bought the social network Twitter for around 44 billion U.S. dollars and became its CEO. Since Musk’s acquisition, the company has experienced some adjustments, including a name change to X and the option for users of becoming verified members for eight U.S. dollars per month. Moreover, there has been reports of increasing hate speech and the platform after Musk's takeover.
Other tech billionaires and their companies
The second richest tech billionaire according to Bloomberg is Bill Gates. In 1975, he founded Microsoft with Paul Allen. Today, Microsoft develops consumer and enterprise software, services, and consumer electronics. In its 2023 financial year, Microsoft generated revenues of just under 212 billion U.S. dollars. By contrast, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Meta, ranked fourth. The company, previously known as Facebook, was rebranded in 2021 and its products include Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Despite their wealth, these companies are not immune to the layoffs that have plagued the tech industry, which are affecting Meta and Amazon employees the most.
FAQs
The 2024 list has a record-breaking 2,781 billionaires – which is more than ever before, Forbes said. The United States has more billionaires than any other country, now boasting a record 813 on the list. Overall, the world's billionaires are richer than ever, too.
Who is the richest person in 2024? ›
Who has more billionaires, China or the US? ›
China has 814 billionaires, the most in the world, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2024. Despite holding on to the top spot, China lost 155 billionaires year-over-year, while the U.S. gained 109.
Who are the 5 richest men in the US? ›
Combined value of the five richest billionaires in the United States as of May 2024 (in billion U.S. dollars) The top five refers to the five riches billionaires at the time. They are Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Larry Page.
How many billionaires are in the USA in 2024? ›
Much of the gains come from the top 20, who added a combined $700 billion in wealth since 2023, and from the U.S., which now boasts a record 813 billionaires worth a combined $5.7 trillion.
How many $100 millionaires are there in the world? ›
There are only 28,420 centi-millionaires in the world (as at June 2023), making this a very elite club. The Centi-Millionaire Report includes exclusive statistics on centi-millionaires provided by global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth. Read expert insights here and the methodology here.
Who is the youngest billionaire in the world? ›
– Livia Voigt, the world's youngest billionaire, has surpassed Clement Del Vecchio, heir to EssilorLuxottica, who is only two months older than her. – Livia Voigt's wealth comes from being one of the largest individual shareholders of WEG, the largest manufacturer of electrical motors in Latin America.
Is Taylor Swift a billionaire? ›
The pop sensation's decadeslong career has now catapulted her to billionaire status, according to Forbes estimates. Swift's net worth has reached $1.1 billion as of March 8, turning her fame into fortune and ranking as the No. 14 celebrity on Forbes' 2024 World Billionaires List, published on April 2.
Who is the richest girl in the world? ›
Since 2021, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers has been listed as the world's wealthiest woman.
Who are the six trillionaires? ›
These are the only 6 trillionaires who lived on earth from history who reached the pinnacle of wealth.
- Genghis Khan. 1206–1227. King of Mongol Empire. ...
- Zhao Xu. 1048–1085. ...
- Akbar, The Great. 1542–1605. ...
- Amenhotep III. 1388–1351 BC. ...
- Augustus Caesar. 63 BC-14 AD. ...
- King Solomon. 970–931 BCE. ...
- Mansa Mousa. 1280–1337.
Dubai is also home to 212 millionaires with over $100 million or more, and 15 billionaires. Dubai ranked 21st on the list that ranked the top 50 cities based on the raw number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs). The only other Middle Eastern city that made the top 50 was Tel Aviv in Israel, with 24,300 millionaires.
How many billionaires live in Texas? ›
Table
| State/District | Number of Billionaires as of 2023 | Billionaires per One-Million People |
|---|
| Texas | 73 | 2.3934206505645195 |
| Utah | 6 | 1.7531111148121234 |
| Virginia | 7 | 0.803685656495795 |
| Washington | 13 | 1.6601056312443119 |
39 more rowsThe 1,645 billionaires in the world control about $6.4 trillion in assets. There are 492 billionaires in the United States. China, Russia, Germany, and Brazil have the next highest number of billionaires. 90 percent of billionaires are male; 65 percent are white; 60 percent are 60 years old or older.
How many billionaires are over 70? ›
Age distribution of billionaires globally in 2022
| Characteristic | Percent of billionaires |
|---|
| Less than 50 | 9.5% |
| 50 to 70 | 48.2% |
| Over 70 | 42.2% |
Sep 1, 2023
Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, is the richest person and the richest man in the world with a net worth of $215 billion. After Arnault is Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Other billionaires with some of the largest net worths include Tesla's Musk, Microsoft's Bill Gates, and Oracle's Larry Ellison.
How many billionaires under 30? ›
Among them, there are 15 billionaires aged 30 or under, however, none have created their own wealth, instead, they've only benefited from huge inheritances, research by.
