The $100 Billion Club: Meet the 14 Richest People in the World – TK

The $100 Billion Club: Meet the 14 Richest People in the World

In last year’s Forbes ranking, only six people boasted a fortune exceeding $100 billion.

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However, this year, as announced on Tuesday, the number of members in this exclusive group has more than doubled, reaching 14.

The magnitude of such wealth becomes evident when compared to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a nation, which represents the sum of all goods and services produced in a year.

To illustrate, the individual wealth of these 14 magnates surpasses the GDP of countries like Panama, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Bolivia.

Chase Peterson-Withorn, the Forbes editor responsible for the list, described the past year as “remarkable” for the world’s richest individuals.

“Even amid financial uncertainty that affected many, the super-rich continued to thrive,” he noted.

Forbes recorded an all-time high of 2,781 billionaires in 2024, an increase of 141 from the previous year and 26 more than the previous record set in 2021.

This elite group is wealthier than ever, amassing a combined fortune of $14.2 trillion.

Leading this group are the magnates who make up the most exclusive club on the planet, according to Forbes.

1. Bernard Arnault (France)

Fortune: $233 billion

For the second consecutive year, Arnault holds the title of the world’s richest person. His wealth grew by 10% in 2023 thanks to another year of record revenue for his luxury conglomerate, LVMH, which owns brands like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Sephora.

2. Elon Musk (USA)

Fortune: $195 billion

In a constantly shifting ranking, Musk has frequently alternated as the world’s richest person, reflecting the fluctuations in the value of his companies, including SpaceX, Tesla, and social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

3. Jeff Bezos (USA)

Fortune: $194 billion

Bezos saw his fortune grow this year, driven by Amazon’s strong stock market performance.

4. Mark Zuckerberg (USA)

Fortune: $177 billion

As Meta’s CEO, Zuckerberg has faced ups and downs. After Meta’s stock plunged 75% from its peak in 2021, his fortune nearly tripled in the past year.

5. Larry Ellison (USA)

Fortune: $141 billion

Over the past year, shares of Oracle, the tech company he co-founded, rose more than 30%, boosting Ellison’s wealth. Though he stepped down as Oracle’s CEO, he remains chairman, chief technology officer, and its largest shareholder.

6. Warren Buffett (USA)

Fortune: $133 billion

Buffett is recognized as one of the most successful investors in history. He leads Berkshire Hathaway, a conglomerate that owns dozens of companies, including Geico insurance, Duracell batteries, and Dairy Queen restaurants. Berkshire’s stock hit record highs, rising 30% from the previous year.

7. Bill Gates (USA)

Fortune: $128 billion

Microsoft’s co-founder held the title of the world’s richest person for 18 of the 23 years between 1995 and 2017. Despite his vast fortune, Gates has dropped in the rankings due to fierce competition in the tech sector, an expensive divorce in 2021, and his extensive philanthropic donations, according to Forbes.

8. Steve Ballmer (USA)

Fortune: $121 billion

As Microsoft’s former CEO, Ballmer led the company from 2000 to 2014, navigating the tech industry’s ups and downs. After leaving Microsoft, he bought the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, which has appreciated in value, now ranking as the NBA’s fifth most valuable franchise.

9. Mukesh Ambani (India)

Fortune: $116 billion

Ambani’s wealth has surged due to rising stock prices of his conglomerate, Reliance Industries, which operates in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecommunications, retail, and financial services.

10. Larry Page (USA)

Fortune: $114 billion

As the co-founder and board member of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, Page remains one of the company’s largest individual shareholders, along with Sergey Brin.

11. Sergey Brin (Russia/USA)

Fortune: $110 billion

Brin, also a co-founder and board member of Alphabet, stepped down as company president in December 2019 but remains a major shareholder alongside Larry Page.

12. Michael Bloomberg (USA)

Fortune: $106 billion

Bloomberg co-founded financial media and information company Bloomberg LP, where he still owns 88% of the business. He also served as New York City’s mayor for 12 years.

13. Amancio Ortega (Spain)

Fortune: $103 billion

Ortega’s fortune grew last year thanks to a 43% increase in the stock value of his fashion company, Inditex, which owns the Zara chain. He also has a vast real estate portfolio, including logistics, residential, and commercial properties across Europe and the U.S.

14. Carlos Slim (Mexico)

Fortune: $102 billion

Once the world’s richest person, Slim remains the wealthiest in Latin America. His fortune grew last year due to the Mexican peso’s appreciation and a 60% surge in the stock price of his industrial conglomerate, Grupo Carso. Slim and his family control América Móvil, Latin America’s largest mobile telecom company.

A Growing Club

Over the past decade, the wealth of this club’s members has grown by 255%, far outpacing the average billionaire’s wealth growth.

Since much of these fortunes are tied to financial markets, their values are constantly in flux.

Bill Gates, for example, briefly reached the “$100 billion club” mark in 1999 before his fortune nearly halved during the dot-com crash.

For nearly two decades, no one surpassed this threshold, even during market booms before the Great Recession of 2008-2009.

This changed when Jeff Bezos crossed the $100 billion mark again in 2017, becoming the second member of this elite group, thanks to Amazon’s skyrocketing market value.

It wasn’t until 2021 that Bezos was no longer alone at the top, as Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, and Bill Gates joined him.

Today, with mega-wealth growing worldwide, entry into this club is becoming increasingly common.

Picture of Aarushi Sharma
Aarushi Sharma

an editor at TK since 2024.

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