The ten wealthiest billionaires in the United States earned $796 billion in 2024, as the surging value of tech stocks this year helped them earn as much as the country’s defence budget ($850 billion)!
These American millionaires have been ranked according to their earnings in a report by the Daily Beast.
Here is the list.
1. Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s stock portfolio earned him $252 billion in 2024, an average of $5 billion every week. He is involved in six major companies: privately held Space X, Tesla, xAI, Neuralink, and the Boring Company.
Musk also controls the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Since Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, Musk has been reportedly busy remaking the US federal government ahead of Trump’s presidency.
2. The Waltons
The richest family in the US earned around $148 billion from their stock portfolio. Their primary wealth was inherited from Sam Walton, the founder of America’s biggest employer, Walmart. Total wealth is split among the family members, including Alice Walton, the second-richest woman in the world.
3. Mark Zuckerberg
The founder of Meta, now owning 13.5% of the company’s shares, earned $82 billion from surging tech stocks in 2024. The report notes that Meta’s value has increased more than six times since late 2022.
The report notes that the company sustains one of the strongest margins (35-40%) among tech stocks and looks to maintain the momentum by tapping into AI by deploying Llama AI.
4. Larry Ellison
Oracle’s founder earned $73 billion this year, with a major portion of his wealth coming from his 43% stake in the cloud computing company.
5. Jensen Huang – founder, Nvidia
The spike in the company’s corporate value this year helped Huang, who owns 3.8% of stakes, add to his earnings of $72 billion. Nvidia’s value increased by $1.9 billion in 2024, more than twice as much as any other tech company.
6. Jeff Bezos
Despite a tumultuous year for his space company Blue Origins and The Washington Post, the founder of Amazon increased his net worth by more than $1 billion every week. Bezos owns almost 9 per cent of Amazon’s stock and funds Blue Origin by periodically selling the e-commerce behemoth’s stock.
7. Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett, renowned for his investment prowess, is currently noted for holding a record $325 million in cash, nearly 30% of Berkshire Hathaway’s value, after selling two-thirds of his Apple shares. He earned $29 billion this year.
Despite this cash-heavy position, Berkshire Hathaway has outperformed most investors, gaining 28% this year, slightly ahead of the S&P 500’s 25% rise and comparable to the Nasdaq’s 29%.
8. Steve Ballmer
Former Microsoft CEO earned $20 billion in 2024. Ballmer saw the company’s stocks fall by a third over his 14-year tenure. He still retains 4.5% of the company, whose fortune was turned around by a new CEO, Satya Nadella. Microsoft is the third most valuable company in the world.
9. Larry Page and Sergei Brin
Google’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, stepped back from running Alphabet five years ago but still hold significant stakes, with Page owning slightly over 3% and Brin slightly less.
Thanks to Alphabet’s $650 billion value increase this year, their holdings have grown substantially, earning them $19-20 billion. The duo retain control of the company through their super-voting shares, giving them 51% of the voting power.
10. Micheal Dell
Dell, once mainly known for making PCs, lost prominence after its early success but has now reinvented itself as a key player in AI infrastructure. Its machines power Elon Musk’s supercomputer, and its founder’s stock has risen 55% this year, adding $29 billion in value, adding $14 billion to his net worth. Dell still owns about half of the company.