Stock market gains, powered in part by Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, are helping to end the year on a high for many leading billionaires.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average ended November at record highs, and the world’s richest increased their wealth by $64 billion after his resounding win over Democrat candidate, Kamala Harris.
Which means when it comes to billionaires in 2024, there is only one place to start.
Vote-winners of the year
Donald Trump’s resounding US election victory was a triumph not only for the bouffant-haired property mogul, but also for his eccentric band of allied billionaires who will dominate US politics for the next four years.
Chief among them is the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, SpaceX and myriad other businesses. He threw his weight behind Trump after a failed assassination attempt and will now lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge, a crypto in-joke, for short) alongside fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy.
Billionaire status isn’t mandatory to be part of Trump’s new administration, but it certainly helps. The treasury secretary, the UK ambassador and commerce secretary are among his other billionaire picks for top roles — so far.
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Billionaire boom-times
Musk has increased his wealth by $124 billion, a surge driven by Tesla’s booming share price, increased valuation of SpaceX and progress in other parts of his business empire.
Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Ellison have also had very profitable years. But it is a different story for Europe’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, titan of the luxury goods sphere. His wealth has dropped by $36.6 billion in 2024 — the only member of the Bloomberg Top 5 to see a reduction.
| Dec 24 wealth* | YTD change | ||
| 1 | Elon Musk | $353 billion | $124 billion |
| 2 | Jeff Bezos | $231 billion | $54.3 billion |
| 3 | Mark Zuckerberg | $210 billion | $81.7 billion |
| 4 | Larry Ellison | $198 billion | $74.6 billion |
| 5 | Bernard Arnault | $171 billion | -$36.8 billion |
*As of 2 December 2024, per Bloomberg Billionaires index.
Luxury loss-maker of the year
With $ 171 billion under his designer belt thanks largely to the LVMH group, Arnault’s $36.8 billion loss will attract little sympathy. But LVMH’s share price decline has contributed to a chunky decline in his wealth at a time when the 75-year-old Frenchman and father of five must grapple with the thorny question of succession.
However tantalising the Arnault saga may be, one family has rewritten the rulebook when it comes to blockbuster succession drama: the Murdochs…
Family feud of the year
Media baron Rupert, a stripling of 93, finally announced last year that elder son Lachlan would take over as chair of News Corp. But the fight for control of the Murdoch empire is not done yet, with a battle behind the closed doors of a Nevada courtroom.
Murdoch is seeking to rewrite the structure of the Murdoch Family Trust to give all voting power to his oldest son, Lachlan, but a judge has now ruled against his bid. Murdoch still has the chance to appeal the ruling and amend the trust, which he currently manages with his four adult children, and remove voting powers from three of them.
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Sporting rollercoaster of the year
Manchester United co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire founder of Ineos, the global petrochemicals manufacturer, has been seen more frequently on the back pages than in the business pages this year.
Spear’s wonders how his heart rate has coped. Buying a minority stake, and day-to-day control, at Manchester United landed a host of problems —partly offset by an unlikely FA Cup victory — to Ratcliffe’s in-tray.
Manager Erik ten Hag was finally sacked in October. Ratcliffe will hope to disprove the adage that the quickest way to become a millionaire is for a billionaire to buy a football club.
There was another jolting twist on his sporting rollercoaster when Sir Ben Ainslie’s Ineos Britannia competed in the final of the America’s Cup — dubbed F1 on water for its high-speed, high-tech approach.
Ainslie was defeated by New Zealand’s team in the UK’s first appearance in the final since 1964.
What goes up must come down award
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, heiress to the L’Oréal fortune, extended her fortune by $26 billion in 2023 — but stock market declines in her key holding have near enough chalked off the gain this year.
Sacre bleu — only her compatriot, Arnault, has lost more of their fortune this year.
[See also: Investors demand AI-driven growth in 2025]
Moaner of the year
This year’s review of billionaires starts and ends on a political note. Sir James Dyson may be known for creating the bagless vacuum cleaner, but his political opponents will only remember his gripes in 2024.
He has attacked two chancellors of the exchequer, first Jeremy Hunt, who he incensed in a ‘fiery’ meeting after making public attacks on the government’s research and development approach. Hunt reportedly told Dyson to stand for election if he thinks he could do better.
Hunt’s party was duly booted from office on 4 July, but Dyson swiftly moved his crosshairs to the new occupant of Number 11, Labour’s Rachel Reeves, who he accused of ‘spiteful’ changes to inheritance tax that would rip ‘the fabric of our economy’ apart.
Will Wainewright is editor of hedge fund news and research platform Alternative Fund Insight
