The total wealth of the planet’s 500 wealthiest individuals saw an increase of $1.5 trillion in 2023, with Elon Musk, the head of Tesla Inc., reclaiming the first place in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Interfax reports. Musk’s fortune saw a significant surge of $95.4bn this year, thanks to a 105% rise in the value of Tesla shares, reaching a staggering $232.393bn. This impressive growth allowed him to surpass French billionaire Bernard Arnault, who had secured the top spot in the previous year.
Luxury goods market faces challenges
Arnault, who heads and controls LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world’s largest luxury goods manufacturer, faced challenges due to the general decline in the world economy and a decrease in demand for luxury goods. These factors limited the rise in the value of LVMH shares, which saw a modest increase of 8.4% this year. Currently, Musk’s fortune exceeds Arnault’s ($178.979bn) by more than $50bn.
Bezos and Gates see wealth increase
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com Inc., increased his fortune by $70bn this year, bringing it on par with Arnault. Meanwhile, the wealth of Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates rose to $140.511bn in 2023, with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s wealth increasing to $130.529bn. Gates and Ballmer round out the top five in the Bloomberg Billionaires ranking.
Adani faces setback
In contrast, Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, owner of Adani Group, lost $37.3bn in 2023 following accusations by Hindenburg Research of market manipulation and reporting fraud.
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