Tesla CEO Elon Musk saw his net worth take a significant hit in the first six months of 2024, dropping from $251.3 billion to $221.4 billion. This was the largest drop among any billionaire in the period, largely due to the court nullification of his $51 billion compensation package from Tesla. Although shareholders partially approved the package, the legal uncertainty surrounding it negatively impacted its value. In addition, Musk’s stake in Tesla, which represents 13% of the company, was also negatively impacted by the drop in the automaker’s stock value.
Despite these losses, Musk remains the world’s richest person. In addition to his stake in Tesla, he has significant investments in his generative artificial intelligence startup xAI , valued at $14.4 billion, and the space exploration company SpaceX , valued at $75 billion. He also has smaller investments in other ventures such as the social media company X and the brain interface startup Neuralink .
While Musk saw his net worth decline, the first half of 2024 was a good one for many of the world’s richest people , with the collective net worth of the 10 richest people rising from $1.47 trillion to $1.66 trillion. Big gainers include Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang , whose net worth increased by $64.1 billion, driven by the AI boom, and Metaverse CEO Mark Zuckerberg , whose fortune grew by $61.5 billion.
Biggest losses:
Bernard Arnault , the richest European, saw his net worth fall from $200.7 billion to $193.8 billion due to the decline in shares of LVMH , his luxury empire.
Carlos Slim Helu , the richest Mexican, saw his fortune fall from US$110.3 billion to US$91.4 billion, influenced by the fall in the shares of his telecommunications group.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight saw his net worth drop from $42.9 billion to $33.7 billion as the company’s stock price fell.
Mackenzie Scott , philanthropist and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos , has seen her net worth drop by $4.7 billion due to major charitable donations, despite a surge in Amazon ‘s stock value .
Biggest gains:
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gained the most, with a net worth of $64.1 billion, rising to 14th place among the world’s richest people.
Other big gainers include Mark Zuckerberg , CEO of Meta , with a $61.5 billion increase; Michael Dell, CEO of Dell , with a $35.8 billion gain; Larry Ellison , chairman of Oracle, with a $37.7 billion increase; and Larry Page , co-founder of Google , who gained $33.1 billion.
Mukesh Ambani led gainers in Asia, with a $22.4 billion increase; Amancio Ortega was the biggest gainer in Europe, with a $10.7 billion jump; Eduardo Saverin led in South America, with an $8.1 billion increase; and Aliko Dangote was the biggest gainer in Africa, with a $3.9 billion increase.
See the billionaires who lost the most in the first half of 2024
Elon Musk, $29.9 billion poorer
Dieter Schwarz, $15.4 billion
Carlos Slim Helu and family, US$13.9 billion
Zhong Shanshan, US$11.3 billion
Andrew Forrest and family, $9.5 billion
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and family, $9.4 billion
Phil Knight and family, $9.2 billion
James Ratcliffe, $7.5 billion
Bernard Arnault and family, $6.9 billion
Low Tuck Kwong, $6.7 billion
