Billionaires Take Over 2024: What You Need to Know!

An analysis conducted by the Institute for Policy Studies, utilizing data from the Forbes Real-Time billionaire tracker as of December 31, 2024, revealed that there are currently 813 billionaires whose combined fortunes amount to a staggering $6.72 trillion.

This figure of 813 billionaires remained unchanged since Forbes released their 38th annual World’s Billionaire List on April 2, 2024. However, the aggregate wealth of these U.S. billionaires has seen a significant increase over the past nine months, growing by $1 trillion from $5.7 trillion at the start of April to $6.72 trillion by year-end.

The wealth rankings of the top five billionaires are as follows:

1. Elon Musk, heading Tesla/X and SpaceX, leads with $428 billion, a substantial rise from $252.5 billion in September 2024.
2. Jeff Bezos of Amazon follows with a net worth of $235.2 billion.
3. Larry Ellison, known for his role at Oracle, has climbed to the third position with $210.5 billion, overtaking Marc Zuckerberg.
4. Mark Zuckerberg of Meta holds $204.4 billion.
5. Larry Page from Google rounds out the top five with $157.6 billion.

In total, there are 15 American billionaires each possessing over $100 billion, culminating in a collective wealth of $2.4 trillion.

The list of wealthiest dynastic families in America also features prominently in the Forbes rankings, ending 2024 with substantial wealth accumulations:

• The Walton family, with seven members, amassed a total of $404.3 billion.
• The Mars family, comprising six individuals, consolidated wealth totaling $130.4 billion.
• The Koch brothers reported a combined fortune of $121.1 billion.

Many of the wealthiest billionaires have experienced rapid increases in their fortunes during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

For instance, on March 18, 2020, Elon Musk’s wealth was just below $25 billion. By the end of 2024, it had escalated to $428 billion.

Jeff Bezos saw his wealth climb from $113 billion on March 18, 2020, to $235.2 billion by the close of 2024.

Similarly, three members of the Walton family—Jim, Alice, and Rob—saw their combined fortunes grow from $161.1 billion on March 18, 2020, to $317 billion by September 13, 2024.