In this article, look at the five people predicted to be the richest people in the world in 2024 and how they amassed their massive wealth. These visionary entrepreneurs have founded some of today’s most influential companies, including Tesla, Amazon, Facebook, and LVMH. Although there is some uncertainty in predicting net worth years in advance, current trends indicate that these five people will be among the world’s richest people by 2024 due to the continued growth and success of their companies. It is suggested that it will be at the top of the list. Exploring their backgrounds, business strategies, and sources of wealth provides insight into how these billions of dollars of wealth were created. While billionaires make significant contributions to innovation and economic growth, the concentration of wealth also raises concerns about inequality.
The goal of this article is to provide an objective analysis of the projected wealthiest individuals for 2024, as well as the implications of their enormous wealth. The goal is to present a thorough synopsis of these people, including their backgrounds, methods of establishing an empire, and the global implications of their wealth.
1. Elon Musk ($251 Billion)
Elon Musk is an entrepreneur and businessman, founder and CEO of SpaceX, co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI, and former chairman of SolarCity and Tesla. Musk’s net worth in 2024 is estimated at $251 billion. Musk was born in South Africa, immigrated to Canada at the age of 17, and later became a U.S. citizen. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and physics.
In 1995, Musk co-founded his web software company Zip2 with his brother Kimbal, which was acquired by Compaq in 1999. That same year, Musk co-founded the online bank X.com. X.com later merged with Confinity to become PayPal. PayPal was sold to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion.
After selling PayPal, Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of reducing the cost of space transportation to make it possible to colonize Mars. SpaceX has developed launch vehicles and spacecraft, including the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule.
In 2020, SpaceX became the first private company to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.
2. Bernard Arnault ($197 billion)
Bernard Arnault is the chairman and CEO of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), the world’s largest luxury goods company. Arnault was born in France in 1949, graduated from the Ecole Institute of Technology and joined his family’s construction company in 1971.
Driven by a vision to make LVMH a global leader in luxury goods, Arnault has built a reputation as a shrewd and aggressive dealmaker. Nicknamed “The Wolf in Cashmere” in France, he is known for identifying iconic brands and turning them into profitable real estate. LVMH’s sales grew rapidly even during the pandemic. Mr. Arnault, now 73 years old, is still deeply involved in the management of LVMH, and his children are in a position to take over the management.
3. Jeff Bezos ($174 billion)
Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon, an e-commerce giant and one of the world’s most valuable companies. Mr. Bezos was born in New Mexico in 1964 and showed an aptitude for science and technology from an early age.
In 2013, Bezos bought the Washington Post. And in 2000, he founded the aerospace company Blue Origin to develop technology for private space travel.
4. Larry Ellison ($135 billion)
In 2004, Mr. Ellison stepped down as CEO but remained with Oracle as chief technology officer. Later, in 2014 he also became CEO. Over the decades, Oracle has grown into a technology giant providing database software and technology solutions to leading companies around the world. The company has more than 130,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of approximately $40 billion. Ellison made Oracle a dominant player in the database management field.
5. Mark Zuckerberg ($125 billion)
Mark Zuckerberg is an American technology entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is one of the co-founders, chairman, chief executive officer, and major shareholder of social media giant Facebook (now Metaplatforms). Zuckerberg attended Harvard University and started Facebook from his dorm in 2004 at age 19. The site was originally designed for Harvard students, but quickly expanded to other universities and the general public. Within a few years, Facebook has grown to become the world’s largest social networking platform. Zuckerberg took the company public in 2012 and has since overseen its evolution into a digital giant. Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. This has significantly expanded its global user base and strengthened its position in mobile technology.
The list of the world’s richest people in 2024 is a special club, and potential members should be almost larger-than-life figures, like the top five in this article. Although many people have made their fortunes in tech, luxury goods remain influential, as Bernard Arnault’s rise to number two shows.
These billionaires are at the top of the financial world, but their path to such vast wealth has not been without controversy. Critics point to issues such as tax avoidance, anti-competitive practices and labor rights violations. The gap between the ultra-rich and average citizens is widening. Still, top billionaires wield tremendous power to shape society, and people like Bill Gates are committed to using their wealth for positive change through philanthropy.