Story by [email protected] (Theron Mohamed)
Meet the 16 members of the $100 billion club — who are jointly worth more than Amazon or Google
©Mandel Ngan, Britta Pedersen, Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images; Elaine Thompson/AP
The elite group worth more than $100 billion includes:
Elon Reeve Musk FRS (/ˈiːlɒn/; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman and investor known for his key roles in space company SpaceX and automotive company Tesla, Inc. Other involvements include ownership of X Corp., formerly Twitter, and his role in the founding of The Boring Company, xAI, Neuralink and OpenAI. He is one of the wealthiest people in the world; as of July 2024, Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$221 billion.
Jeffrey Preston Bezos (/ˈbeɪzoʊs/ BAY-zohss; né Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American business magnate best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce and cloud computing company. He is the second wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of US$ 211 billion as of July 16, 2024, according to Forbes. He was the wealthiest person from 2017 to 2021, according to both the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes.
Jeff Bezos
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman best known for co-founding the software company Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief software architect, while also being its largest individual shareholder until May 2014. He was a pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s.
and Bill Gates.
The 16 members have grown about $414 billion richer this year and are jointly worth $2.4 trillion.
James Carr Walton (born June 7, 1948) is an American businessman, currently an heir to the fortune of Walmart, the world’s largest retailer. As of August 2024, Walton was the 15th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$92.5 billion according to Forbes. He is the youngest son of Sam Walton.
Walmart heirs Jim and Rob Walton joined the club this month and their sister could soon follow.
Samuel Robson “Rob” Walton (born October 27, 1944) is an American billionaire heir to the fortune of Walmart, the world’s largest retailer. He is the eldest son of Helen Walton and Sam Walton, and was chairman of Walmart from 1992 to 2015. As of November 2023, Walton had an estimated net worth of US$72 billion, making him the 16th richest person in the world. He is also the principal owner of the Denver Broncos.
are among the handful of people on the planet with a net worth above $100 billion.
Members of this elite group have amassed 12-digit fortunes by owning huge amounts of stock in some of the world’s most valuable companies.
Most are founders and either current or former CEOs, and some, such as Warren Buffett, would be much richer if they didn’t give billions to charity.
Warren Edward Buffett (/ˈbʌfɪt/ BUF-it; born August 30, 1930) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is one of the best-known investors in the world. As of June 2024, he had a net worth of $135 billion, making him the tenth-richest person in the world.
There may be only 16 centibillionaires, but their combined wealth is around $2.4 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
They’re worth more than Amazon or Google-parent Alphabet, which command market values of around $2 trillion each.
All but one of them have grown richer this year, adding a net $414 billion to their collective fortunes.
- Procter & Gamble ($409 billion)
- Costco ($406 billion)
- Johnson & Johnson ($398 billion)
are all worth less than that.
Walmart heirs Jim and Rob Walton joined the exclusive group this month thanks to their net worths surging by over $29 billion this year.
Jim Walton Joins $100 Billion Club As Walmart Stock Hits Record High – Business Insider
Their sister, Alice, could soon follow given her net worth stands at $99.5 billion.
Alice Louise Walton (born October 7, 1949) is an American heiress to the fortune of Walmart as daughter of founder Sam Walton. In September 2016, she owned over $11 billion in Walmart shares. As of November 2023, Walton has a net worth of $71 billion, making her the 17th richest person and the second-richest woman in the world according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after Françoise Bettencourt Meyers.
Here’s the list of individuals worth at least $100 billion, showing Bloomberg’s estimate of their net worth at the time of publication, how much it’s changed this calendar year, and the source of their wealth.
- Mark Zuckerberg might overtake Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to become the world’s wealthiest person.
- The Meta CEO’s net worth has jumped by an unmatched $72 billion this year to hit $200 billion.
- Both Musk and Bezos were worth less earlier this year than Zuckerberg is now.
Mark Zuckerberg has shot up the ranks of the world’s richest people — and could take the top spot for the first time.
The 16 People Richer Than $100 Billion, Jointly Worth More Than Amazon – Business Insider
The CEO of Meta Platforms — Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp’s parent company — has grown his net worth by an astounding $72.2 billion this year to reach $200 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Mark Zuckerberg Now $70B Richer This Year — and Almost in $200B Club – Business Insider
Zuckerberg is now third on the list, behind only Tesla’s Elon Musk (worth $265 billion) and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ($216 billion).
Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded software company Oracle Corporation. He was Oracle’s chief executive officer from 1977 to 2014 and is now its chief technology officer and executive chairman.
The social media mogul started the year in sixth but now comfortably leads Oracle’s Larry Ellison ($178 billion) and LVMH’s Bernard Arnault ($177 billion) in fourth and fifth place respectively.
Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault (French: [bɛʁnaʁ ʒɑ̃ etjɛn aʁno]; born 5 March 1949) is a French businessman, investor and art collector. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company. Arnault is one of the richest individuals in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$180 billion as of August 2024, according to Forbes.
Who Is Bernard Arnault: LVMH CEO, Is Sliding Down the Rich List – Business Insider
He trails Musk and Bezos by some distance, but could quickly narrow the gap as technology fortunes are notoriously volatile.
Musk was worth only $164 billion as recently as April, while Bezos was worth $185 billion in early August.
A few bad days for Tesla and Amazon, and a few good ones for Meta, would allow Zuckerberg to seize the top spot.
It’s true that Meta, Tesla, and Amazon trade similarly as all three are mega-cap tech stocks, meaning:
- Zuckerberg
- Musk
- Bezos
fortunes tend to rise and fall in tandem.
But a bad earnings report, a bombshell lawsuit, an antitrust investigation, or a disaster of any kind could knock Musk and Bezos below Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg could also climb to the peak if Musk and Bezos make some large philanthropic donations.
After all, the only reason that Warren Buffett isn’t the richest person on the planet with a $300 billion-plus net worth is that he’s donated more than half his Berkshire Hathaway stock.
The Meta chief has been outpacing Musk and Bezos in wealth accumulation this year, putting him on track to overtake them.
His $72 billion gain since January far surpasses their respective increases of around $36 billion and $39 billion.
Zuckerberg, 40, probably has more time than Musk, 53, and Bezos, 60, to grow his already vast fortune.
Buffett amassed over 99% of his fortune after turning 65, author Morgan Housel notes in “The Psychology of Money.”
The Psychology of Money – Anna’s Archive (annas-archive.org)
That shows how powerful a long-time horizon is in compounding wealth.
What if EVERYONE Was Wealthy Beyond Their Wildest Dreams? – Library of Rickandria
Sergey Mikhailovich Brin (Russian: Сергей Михайлович Брин; born August 21, 1973) is an American businessman and computer scientist who co-founded Google with Larry Page. He was the president of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., until stepping down from the role on December 3, 2019. He and Page remain at Alphabet as co-founders, controlling shareholders, and board members. As of June 2024, Brin is the 7th-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $146 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes.
Despite being far younger, Zuckerberg commands a greater net worth than business titans Bill Gates, Buffett, and the “Google Guys,” Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American businessman and computer scientist best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin.
Early start
Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 when he was 19 and took it public in 2012 at age 28.
Meta now stands as the world’s sixth-largest public company with a $1.4 trillion market capitalization, making it more valuable than:
- Buffett’s Berkshire ($982 billion)
- Musk’s Tesla ($799 billion)
- Walmart ($646 billion)
- JPMorgan ($601 billion)
and many other corporate behemoths.
The Corporation of the United States of America – Library of Rickandria
Zuckerberg has staged quite a comeback in recent years.
Meta stock tanked by more than 75% between September 2021 and November 2022 as investors balked at its leader’s decision to plow tens of billions of dollars into its nascent metaverse business, and soured on tech stocks more broadly.
Mark Zuckerberg’s $47B Metaverse Bet Will Take a Decade: Meta Exec – Business Insider
The slump slashed Zuckerberg’s net worth to just $35 billion at its nadir.
But the stock has soared over sixfold since then — and 89% in the past year — to hover at record levels of above $560.
The rally, which has more than quintupled Zuckerberg’s net worth, reflects Wall Street betting that Meta will win big from the AI revolution, and investors’ relief that Zuckerberg has reined in his spending.
Zuckerberg Reels in Spending on His Big Bet at Meta: Report – Business Insider
Zuckerberg isn’t nipping at Musk and Bezos’ heels yet, but his strong momentum and the vicissitudes of tech wealth could mean that changes pretty soon.
All figures are correct as of September 16, 2024.
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