A year in wealth: The biggest billionaire winners and losers of 2024
1 hour ago
Bernard Arnault lost more money than any other billionaire this year — while Elon Musk's fortune nearly doubled.Chesnot/Getty Images; Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
In 2024, the rich largely got richer as tech stocks flew and markets experienced a postelection bump.
However, some luxury titans shed billions amid an industry downturn.
Here are the biggest billionaire winners and losers of the year, according to 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 uberwealthy, many of whom are invested in companies on each index, benefited greatly.
The five billionaires who gained the most wealth in 2024 saw their net worths climb a collective $542 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of December 27.
These billionaires all come from the tech sector, where AI fever and a postelection rally pushed many stocks to all-time highs.
There were, though, those whose fortunes took a hit. Some billionaires whose money comes from luxury retail, which struggled this year, lost double-digit billions.
Here are the billionaires who gained and lost the most this year — and just how much their fortunes changed as of December 27.
The biggest winners of the year are…
Elon Musk: $239 billion richer
Musk, who backed Donald Trump's campaign, has become $200 billion richer since the election.Getty Images
Elon Musk, who is worth $468 billion, nearly doubled his net worth in 2024, owing in no small part to the stock market's rally after Donald Trump's election victory. Since Election Day, he's become more than $200 billion richer.
His fortune is predominantly made up of Tesla stock and equity in SpaceX. Even though sales of electric vehicles have slowed down, Tesla's stock price has jumped more than 70% this year. SpaceX, meanwhile, has doubled in value in the past year and is now worth a reported $350 billion.
Musk, who gave more than $200 million to Trump's reelection efforts, has become an advisor to the president-elect, who tapped him and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead his newly created Department of Government Efficiency. Investors are bullish that his relationship with the commander in chief will benefit his companies.
Mark Zuckerberg: $85 billion richer
Zuckerberg, Meta's largest individual shareholder, saw his fortune thanks to a strong year for the company.@zuck via Instagram
Mark Zuckerberg is riding on the success of Meta's strong year. The CEO, who is worth $213 billion, owns about 13% of the company's stock, making him its largest individual shareholder.
Meta's share price is up over 70% this year thanks to its strong ad business and push further into AI. The company announced its first-ever dividend in February, and its stock hit record highs multiple times this year.
Jensen Huang: $78 billion richer
A newly minted centibillionaire, Huang has become one of the best-known figures in the booming AI industry.I-hwa Cheng/Getty
The AI boom minted a new centibillionaire this year in Jensen Huang, who is worth $122 billion.
The Nvidia CEO and cofounder owns about 3.5% of the company, whose share price is up more than 175% year-to-date thanks to its dominance in the AI chip industry.
Larry Ellison: $70 billion richer
Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle.Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
Larry Ellison, who is worth $193 billion, is the founder and chief technology officer of Oracle.
The database software company's stock, which makes up the largest share of his net worth, is up more than 60% year-to-date thanks to its cloud applications and infrastructure, which can be used to train AI.
Ellison also owns more than 1% of Tesla stock, which is worth $20 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Jeff Bezos: $69 billion richer
Jeff Bezos remains Amazon's largest shareholder and has benefited from the company's 2024 rally.Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The New York Times
Jeff Bezos, the Amazon cofounder, remains the company's largest individual shareholder, owning nearly 9% of the $2.4 trillion company. His stake in the retail and tech behemoth makes up more than 80% of his $246 billion fortune.
Amazon's stock, which is up more than 45% year-to-date, surged after Trump's election. The company has also benefited from its leadership in e-commerce and cloud computing.
Meanwhile, some billionaires did experience hits to their fortunes.
Bernard Arnault: $31 billion poorer
By the numbers, Arnault is the biggest billionaire loser of the year.Tefano Rellandini/Getty Images
This year was one of the worst years for luxury in recent memory, and Bernard Arnault has an 11-figure loss to show for it.
The CEO of LVMH, who is worth $176 billion, has a 48% stake in the company, which owns brands like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. Luxury labels have struggled this year, particularly in China, which has experienced a real estate crisis and high youth unemployment.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers: $25 billion poorer
Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers' net worth is derived from her stake in L'Oréal.Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images
Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, the heir to the L'Oréal fortune, is the second-richest woman in the world with a fortune of $75 billion.
The cosmetics company has struggled this year as sales in China took a hit. Its share price is down more than 26% year-to-date.
Carlos Slim: $23 billion poorer
Carlos Slim has a diversified fortune, with stakes in many public companies in Latin America.AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who is worth $82 billion, saw his fortune slip with telecommunications giant América Móvil's stock this year.
Colin Huang: $17 billion poorer
Colin Huang's fortune is derived from Temu, the fast-fashion retailer he founded.VCG/Getty Images
Nearly all of Colin Huang's $35 billion fortune lies in his stake in Pinduoduo, the parent company of fast-fashion retailer Temu, whose stock has fallen more than 30% this year.
In August, Temu announced it expected profits to fall in the future due to growing competition and changing consumer sentiment. The company took another hit following Trump's victory, given the uncertainty of how future tariffs may affect sales.
Francois Pinault: $14 billion poorer
Francois Pinault founded the luxury group Kering, whose stock plummeted this year.REUTERS/Charles Platiau
Francois Pinault's fortune is another casualty of the luxury downturn this year.
He founded the luxury group Kering, which includes brands like Balenciaga, Gucci, and Saint Laurent, and the majority of his $22 billion net worth is tied up in the company, whose stock is down more than 40% year-to-date.
