Elon Musk Tops List of Billionaire Losers in 2024 Amid Record Stock Market Gains
Forbes reported that Elon Musk, the renowned CEO of Tesla, saw a substantial decrease in his net worth compared to other billionaires worldwide in the first half of the year. Despite the overall positive stock market trend benefiting the ultra-rich, Musk’s wealth took a hit—though a sizable bonus from Tesla could potentially help offset this decline.
Main Points:
Between December 31, 2023, and June 28, 2024, Musk’s net worth dropped from $251.3 billion to $221.4 billion, marking the largest decrease among billionaires tracked by Forbes. However, he still holds the title of the wealthiest individual globally.
This decline can largely be attributed to a ruling by a Delaware judge in January that invalidated Musk’s $51 billion compensation package from Tesla, causing Forbes to reevaluate the worth of the package. Despite the shareholders’ approval of the package again on June 13, Forbes maintains the reduction due to the expected prolonged legal process.
In addition, Musk’s 13% ownership in Tesla decreased by approximately $20 billion as the company experienced a 20% drop in share value due to lower earnings and car deliveries. On the flip side, Musk’s stake in his AI startup, xAI, increased to $14.4 billion, alongside his substantial investments in SpaceX ($75 billion), X ($7 billion), and Neuralink. The first half of 2024 proved to be profitable for many of the world’s richest individuals, as the combined net worth of Forbes’ top ten billionaires rose from $1.47 trillion at the end of 2023 to $1.66 trillion by June. However, Musk and several other prominent billionaires observed a decline in their fortunes:
Bernard Arnault (Europe’s wealthiest individual): Net worth decreased from $200.7 billion to $193.8 billion.
Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico’s richest person): Fortune dropped from $105.3 billion to $91.4 billion.
Phil Knight (Co-founder of Nike): Net worth declined from $42.9 billion to $33.7 billion.
Mackenzie Scott: Witnessed a $4.7 billion downturn mostly due to charitable contributions, despite Amazon’s stock performing well.
Top Losses Among Billionaires in the First Half of 2024:
Many billionaires capitalized on the record highs of global stock indexes like the S&P 500, Stoxx 600, Nikkei 225, and Nifty 50. The CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, emerged as the biggest winner, gaining $64.1 billion and ascending from the 27th richest person in the world to the 14th. Other beneficiaries of the AI surge include:
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, saw an increase of $61.5 billion in his net worth.
Michael Dell, CEO of Dell, experienced a rise of $35.8 billion.
Larry Ellison, the chairman of Oracle, gained $37.7 billion.
Larry Page, co-founder of Google, added $33.1 billion to his wealth.
Mukesh Ambani emerged as Asia’s biggest gainer with a $22.4 billion increase.
Amancio Ortega was the top winner in Europe, with a rise of $10.7 billion.
Eduardo Saverin saw a significant increase of $8.1 billion, making him the biggest gainer in South America.
Aliko Dangote experienced a growth of $3.9 billion, becoming Africa’s top profit.
Notable Insights:
Elon Musk’s current net worth is now $99 billion lower than his peak of approximately $320 billion in November 2021. This decline coincided with Tesla’s stock dropping by over 50%, while the S&P 500 saw a gain of about 22%.
On average, the 25 wealthiest individuals, excluding Musk, saw their net worth increase by $14.4 billion from the end of 2023 to mid-2024.
Herbert Bauernebel
Herbert Bauernebel has been reporting from New York since 1999 and currently works for Bild.de, OE24 TV, and US Live. He also runs the news portal AmerikaReport.de. Bauernebel has covered nearly all major US events of the past quarter-century, including 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Barack Obama’s election, Donald Trump’s surprise victory, the pandemic, last year’s election showdown, as well as natural disasters such as hurricanes and oil spills. He has also reported firsthand on international events, including the Asian tsunami, the Haiti earthquake, and the Fukushima disaster. He lives in Brooklyn with his family and holds degrees in communication and political science from the University of Vienna. Bauernebel is the author of a book about his experiences on 9/11, And the Air Was Full of Ash: 9/11 – The Day That Changed My Life.