World’s richest $852B wealthier in 2023

The 500 richest people in the world have added $852 billion to their wealth so far in 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Each person on the list made an average of $14 million per day over the first half of 2023, according to the data compiled by the outlet.

It was the best half of the year for billionaires since Q3 and Q4 of 2020, when the economy rebounded from a slump caused by the onset of COVID.

The gains landed Twitter owner and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in the top spot — with a net worth of $248 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Index — after being knocked down a peg by French magnate Bernie Arnault.

The 74-year-old CEO of LVMH — which controls about 75 luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., and Christian Dior — lost the leading spot to Musk following a slump in the luxury sector in May.

In one day, LVMH shares fell 5% in Paris, slashing $11 billion from Arnault’s fortune.

He now sits in the No. 2 spot with a net worth of $196 billion.

Meanwhile, Musk’s Tesla this week reported stronger-than-expected delivery and production numbers, which rose 83% year over year according to its Q2 report.

Year to date, Tesla’s shares have soared nearly 154% to $274.50.

The electric vehicle company’s success more than replenished the $9 billion net worth hit Musk took when he purchased Twitter in October for $44 million.

Musk added $96.6 billion to his net worth this year through June 30, according to Bloomberg.

Sitting behind Musk and Arnault on the list of the world’s richest people is Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, 59, with $155 billion.

In the No. 4 spot is 67-year-old Microsoft founder Bill Gates, with a net worth of $134 billion.

Rounding out the top five is Larry Ellison, 78, the chief technology officer and former CEO of Oracle.

Musk’s potential “cage match” rival Mark Zuckerberg sits in the ninth spot, trailing Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer, Berkshire Hathaway boss Warren Buffett and Google co-founder Larry Page.

The 39-year-old Meta boss has a net worth of $107 billion. He added $58.9 million to his fortune this year through June 30 — the second largest increase behind Musk.

The rivalry between Zuckerberg and Musk was fueled further on Wednesday when Meta launched its so-called “Twitter killer” app, Threads.

The tech tycoon’s stock has been rising since its new social media platform went live and over 30 million users signed up.

Meta’s share price was up more than 1% as of Thursday morning.

Forbes estimated that the company could add another $150 billion in market valuation from the buzz around the platform alone as there’s currently no revenue prospects for Threads.

The outlet reported that 24 hours after launching Threads, Zuckerberg is $61 billion richer.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, meanwhile, was last refreshed at the close of trading day on Wednesday. It’s unclear how Threads’s release will affect Zuckerberg’s positioning on the list.

However, some billionaires on Bloomberg’s list aren’t having such a lucrative start to 2023.

Gautam Adani’s net worth took the steepest hit over the past six-month period, losing $60.2 billion, according to the outlet.

The 61-year-old chairman of Adani Group also reported the biggest one-day loss of any other billionaire.

On Jan. 27, Adani’s fortune was slashed by about $20.8 billion after short seller Hindenburg Research accused his India-based conglomgerate of fraud and stock manipulation.

Adani has denied the claims.

Adani currently sits in the No. 21 spot on the Billionaires Index with a net worth of $60.2 billion.

Another Hindenburg target, Carl Icahn, fell to the 198th spot on the billionaires list.

About $13.4 billion was erased from Icahn’s fortune after the investment research firm called out Icahn Enterprises LP for relying on a “Ponzi-like structure” to pay dividends.

Icahn’s net worth fell $13.4 billion, or 57% — the largest percentage drop of any member of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in the period, according to Bloomberg.