As 2024 progresses, the stock market has experienced significant growth, largely driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies. This boom has particularly benefitted the world's wealthiest individuals, whose net worths have skyrocketed alongside their respective companies' stock performances.
At the forefront of this financial surge is Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, whose wealth has increased dramatically this year. By the end of October, his net worth had soared by $119 billion, largely attributed to Tesla's growth of over 37% since the beginning of the year. Musk's fortunes were bolstered not only by the company’s innovations in AI and autonomous vehicles but also by his political manoeuvring, including substantial donations to former President Donald Trump's campaign. Speaking about his political investments, Musk remarked he would have been “f–ked” had Trump lost the election. With Trump’s newfound support for electric vehicles, stating, “I’m for electric cars; I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly,” the outlook for Tesla has significantly improved.
In second place for the largest increase in net worth is Larry Ellison, founder and largest shareholder of Oracle, who has seen his wealth grow by $83.2 billion this year. Oracle shares have surged by over 83% due to heightened interest in cloud applications and AI technologies. CEO Safra Catz has highlighted the unprecedented demand for AI, stating that the company has signed “the largest sales contracts in our history—driven by the enormous demand for training AI large language models.” Catz anticipates continuing strong demand for Oracle's AI capabilities throughout fiscal year 2025.
Following closely is Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, whose net worth has risen by approximately $80 billion, propelled by a staggering 185% increase in Nvidia’s stock value. Huang's stake in the company, which boasts a market cap exceeding $3.5 trillion, further solidifies his status as one of the richest individuals globally.
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Meta, has also benefited from the AI-driven market shift, with his net worth climbing to $70 billion as the company leverages emerging technologies. Additionally, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, has experienced a surge of nearly $42 billion in wealth as Amazon invests aggressively in AI, with shares increasing by approximately 38% this year.
Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, has witnessed his fortune grow to $41 billion through a strategic pivot towards AI, while the heirs of the Walmart empire have also seen substantial increases in their net worths. Jim Walton’s fortune has expanded to $40.1 billion, with his siblings, Alice and Rob, following closely behind with net worths of $39.5 billion and $39 billion, respectively.
Rounding out the top ten wealth gainers in 2024 is Thomas Peterffy, chairman of Interactive Brokers, whose net worth has surged by approximately $32 billion in the same period.
As market analysts look to the future, the stable trajectory seems promising, particularly with a new Treasury Secretary who is likely to champion a regulation-lite environment conducive to technological innovation. This changing landscape signals continued transformations in business practices through the integration of AI and automation, promising to reshape entire industries in the coming years.
Source: Noah Wire Services