According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the top 10 earners have collectively added more than $460 billion to their wealth since the beginning of the year.
Their combined net worth has jumped from approximately $765 billion at the end of 2022 to an astounding $1.2 trillion, with increases ranging from 20% to 200%.
These significant gains are primarily attributed to the surge in technology stocks, fueled by optimism about the end of the monetary tightening cycle (interest rate hikes) and potential rate cuts starting next year. Such developments are expected to bolster growth stocks, especially in the tech sector.
Among the top 10 earners this year, nine are investors in the technology sector, while one hails from the retail industry. Seven of these individuals are among the ten wealthiest people globally, with three not featuring in the top ten richest.
Leading the pack is American billionaire Elon Musk, owner of companies Tesla and X (formerly known as ‘Twitter’), who is also the world’s richest person.
Musk’s market gains totaled $93.9 billion, boosting his wealth by 68% to $231 billion. He gained a total of $250 million daily over the year.
In second place is Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, the seventh richest person globally, whose wealth increased by $75 billion (163%) to $121 billion.
Jeff Bezos, founder of e-commerce giant Amazon, ranks third with his wealth increasing by $65 billion (61%), bringing his total to $172 billion and placing him third on the global wealth list.
Fourth in the rankings is Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft and stakeholder in the Redmond, Washington-based company, known for the Windows operating system and Xbox games.
Ballmer’s fortune grew by $40.8 billion (47%), reaching $127 billion, making him the fifth wealthiest individual in the world.
