Elon Musk’s domain
2024 promises to be an extraordinary year for the world’s super rich, with Elon Musk clearly standing out. With a personal wealth of more than 450 billion dollars, Musk not only asserts himself as the richest billionaire on the planet, but he also sets an historic record, becoming the first to exceed the 400 billion mark. This extraordinary result is the result of the exponential growth of its companies, in particular Tesla and SpaceX, which continue to dominate their
respective sectors.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the total wealth of billionaires in 2024 reached more than 10 trillion dollars, highlighting a significant growth trend. The artificial intelligence startup XAi, founded by Musk, has already reached a value of about 50 billion, while SpaceX stands as the most valuable young company in the world, with a valuation of about 350
billion dollars.
The competition between billionaires
Behind Musk, we find Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, whose assets have increased by 66 billion, bringing it to a total of 243 billion. Mark Zuckerberg, with Facebook, is following closely, earning 84 billion and reaching 212 billion. This data shows how the technology sector continues to thrive, while other sectors, such as luxury, are facing significant challenges
.
Among the well-known names on the list of billionaires, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett also stand out, each with assets that exceed 100 billion. However, there is no shortage of surprises: among the Italians, Giovanni Ferrero is in 46th place with 36 billion, followed by Paolo Rocca
and Piero Ferrari.
The challenges of the luxury sector
Despite the triumph of the technological billionaires, the luxury sector has suffered a severe blow. Bernard Arnault, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and François Pinault, among the richest in the world, have seen their wealth shrink by about 70 billion dollars. Their companies, including LVMH and Kering, were among the most affected by the market downturn, with Gucci recording a loss of 41% of its
value.
The slowdown in Chinese consumer spending on luxury goods has contributed to this crisis, while companies are trying to adapt to new management and renewed strategies. In addition, political instability in France has further complicated the situation, reducing investor appetite for the country’s assets
.
