.For the first time in decades, Bill Gates has fallen out of the top 10-a ranking he has held since the early 1990s. In his place, Amancio Ortega, Spain’s richest man and founder of the Inditex fashion group-owner of Zara-returns to the top ranks for the first time in years.
Key Updates:
- Amancio Ortega joins the top ten for the first time in years.
- Larry Ellison leaps into the No. 2 rank on an Oracle stock surge.
- Bill Gates falls to No. 12, his first time out of the top 10 in decades.
At close of October 1, 2024, Elon Musk is still leading the board as the world’s richest. His net worth surged $27 billion this month alone at the back of the boost in Tesla shares. Now, Musk is comfortably at the top with an unprecedented net worth of $270.5 billion.
Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, leaped to the number two position on the back of a $33 billion rise in his net worth fueled by rising Oracle stock prices. His fortune is now over $200 billion, joining him among just three people on the planet worth that much.
Another technology mogul, Mark Zuckerberg, also increased his wealth. In October, the Meta Platforms chief executive officer’s net worth jumped by $17.5 billion to $198 billion, after Meta’s stock rose almost 10% in September.
The Fall of a Tech Legend:
Bill Gates, once an immovable presence within the top 10, fell outside for the first time in decades. His net worth is now $107.9 billion, from $137 billion in September. The steep plunge partly reflects philanthropic activity-newly uncovered filings show that Gates gave $12.5 billion to his ex-wife Melinda French Gates to support her charitable efforts. That same new filing prompted Forbes to recalculate the amount he paid out in their 2021 divorce settlement, which contracted his fortune by a much larger amount than initially thought.
Yet, despite this, Gates remains just outside the top 10, holding the 12th position.
World’s Top 10 Wealthiest – October 2024:
- Elon Musk – $270.5 billion
- Larry Ellison – More than $200 billion
- Jeff Bezos – Founder of Amazon
- Mark Zuckerberg – $198 billion, Meta Platforms Chief Executive Officer
- Bernard Arnault – LVMH Chief Executive Officer
- Warren Buffett – Prominent investor, Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Officer
- Larry Page – Co-founder of Google
- Amancio Ortega – Founder of Inditex, the parent company of Zara
- Sergey Brin – Co-founder of Google
- Steve Ballmer – Former CEO of Microsoft, owner of the LA Clippers
Collectively, the ten have made a fortune of $1.75 trillion, compared with $1.66 trillion a month ago. These gains are largely from the strong performances in tech-a consequence of major stock price rises across companies like Tesla, Oracle, and Meta Platforms.
Wealth Distribution Among Elite:
While the names and rankings change every month, one thing stays relatively constant: the list is dominated by American billionaires. For example, this October 2024 sees the 8 out of the 10 richest people in the world coming from the United States. These even include household names such as Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Bill Gates, with each holding immense influence in the world of technology and business to this day.
Further, note that all of the top 10 wealthiest are males and that each of them is worth more than $120 billion.
A Closer Look at the Movers and Shakers:
- Elon Musk: The Tesla/SpaceX chief exec is widening the gap at the top of the world’s richest ranking, as Tesla’s stock rises.
Larry Ellison: Oracle’s strong performance propelled Ellison to the second spot, with a gain of $33 billion in wealth this month. Mark Zuckerberg: Meta Platforms continued to rise and propelled its CEO closer to the $200 billion benchmark.
While stock prices and fortunes can fluctuate daily, these individuals are at the leading edge of shaping global business, innovation, and by extension, the world economy. For real-time updates of their wealth and ranking positions, Forbes tracks daily changes on their Real Time Billionaires listing: https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/.
And as the financial year wears on, expect further changes in the rankings-the fortunes to be won and lost in the ever-volatile global marketplace. But for now, these are the wealthiest people on the planet, as of October 2024.