Elon Musk is $119 billion richer this year — and the 10 biggest wealth gainers are up a combined $585 billion
Oracle chairman Larry Ellison and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are two of 2024’s biggest wealth gainers.
Ten people have grown their personal fortunes by a combined $585 billion this year — a sum larger than the market value of Exxon Mobil ($535 billion), Oracle ($533 billion), or Mastercard ($478 billion).
The biggest wealth gainers of 2024 include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The buzz around artificial intelligence and market excitement following Donald Trump’s reelection has boosted their companies’ stock prices, benefiting them as the biggest shareholders.
Here are the 10 greatest wealth builders this year as of Monday, November 25.
1. Elon Musk
Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
Year-to-date wealth gain: $119 billion
Net worth: $348 billion
Source of wealth gain: Tesla and SpaceX stock
Elon Musk is the CEO of automaker Tesla and spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX. He’s also the owner of X, the social network previously known as Twitter, along with Neuralink, xAI, and The Boring Company.
Musk’s $119 billion wealth gain this year matches the total net worth of Michael Dell, the world’s 12th richest person. The serial entrepreneur’s $348 billion fortune exceeds his previous wealth peak in 2021.
2. Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle.
Year-to-date wealth gain: $83.2 billion
Net worth: $206 billion
Source of wealth gain: Oracle and Tesla stock
Larry Ellison is the cofounder, executive chairman, and chief technology officer of Oracle, one of the largest enterprise software companies.
Oracle stock has jumped 82% this year as the company has emerged as a key provider of cloud data centers for AI businesses, fueling a $83 billion increase in Ellison’s net worth.
Ellison purchased more than 1.5% of Tesla prior to joining its board in December 2018, making him the electric-vehicle maker’s second-largest individual shareholder after Musk. He’s believed to have retained his stake, now worth upward of $15 billion, since resigning as a director in 2022.
3. Jensen Huang
Year-to-date wealth gain: $79.9 billion
Net worth: $124 billion
Source of wealth gain: Nvidia stock
Jensen Huang is the founder and CEO of Nvidia, the graphics chip maker that has emerged as a critical seller of “picks and shovels” to the AI gold rush.
Nvidia’s stock has surged 187% this year, making it the world’s most valuable company with a $3.5 trillion market value and lifting Huang’s net worth by almost $80 billion.
4. Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg.
Year-to-date wealth gain: $70 billion
Net worth: $198 billion
Source of wealth gain: Meta stock
Mark Zuckerberg is the cofounder and CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.
Meta stock has soared 58% this year as investors wager Zuckerberg’s big bets on AI and the metaverse will pay off in the years ahead. Zuckerberg has added about $70 billion to his net worth as a result, propelling him into fourth place on Bloomberg’s rich list.
5. Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos.
Year-to-date wealth gain: $41.7 billion
Net worth: $219 billion
Source of wealth gain: Amazon stock
Jeff Bezos is Amazon’s founder, executive chairman, and former CEO.
Amazon shares leaped 30% this year as investors bet the online retailer can harness AI to supercharge its sales and leverage Amazon Web Services to become a key provider of cloud infrastructure to AI companies.
6. Michael Dell
Year-to-date wealth gain: $40.8 billion
Net worth: $119 billion
Source of wealth gain: Dell Technologies stock
Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, the maker of PCs, printers, and other computing equipment.
Dell shares have soared about 89% this year as the company shifted its focus toward AI-powered devices and servers.
7. Jim Walton
Jim Walton is the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton.
Year-to-date wealth gain: $40.1 billion
Net worth: $113 billion
Source of wealth gain: Walmart stock
Jim Walton is the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton and, like his siblings, one of the retailer’s largest shareholders with an 11%-plus stake.
Walmart stock has climbed 72% this year, fueled by resilient consumer spending in the face of historic inflation and soaring interest rates in recent years. The surge led to Walton amassing a $100 billion fortune for the first time in September.
8. Alice Walton
Alice Walton is the only daughter of founder Sam Walton and a Walmart heiress.
Year-to-date wealth gain: $39.5 billion
Net worth: $110 billion
Source of wealth gain: Walmart stock
Alice Walton is the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton.
She overtook L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers in Augusrt to become the world’s richest woman.
9. Rob Walton
Rob Walton is Walmart founder Sam Walton’s eldest son and an heir to the retail fortune.
Year-to-date wealth gain: $39.0 billion
Net worth: $110 billion
Source of wealth gain: Walmart stock
Rob Walton is the eldest son of Sam Walton and an heir to the Walmart fortune.
He and his siblings owe a big chunk of their wealth to their father, who handed them each a 20% stake in the family business over 70 years ago instead of having them inherit his fortune upon his death, in turn avoiding paying billions of dollars in estate taxes.
10. Thomas Peterffy
Thomas Peterffy is the founder and chairman of Interactive Brokers.
Year-to-date wealth gain: $31.7 billion
Net worth: $57.4 billion
Source of wealth gain: Interactive Brokers stock
Thomas Peterffy is the founder and chairman of Interactive Brokers, the brokerage firm behind one of the world’s largest electronic trading platforms.
Born in Hungary, Peterffy became a trader on the American Stock Exchange in 1977 and started his business soon after. He stepped down as CEO in 2019.
