Top 10 Billionaires' Wealth Worldwide Increased by 478 Trillion Won This Year Alone

▲Elon Musk, Founder and CEO of Tesla [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] The assets of the world's top 10 billionaires increased by $402 billion (approximately 478.179 trillion KRW) this year.

On the 30th (local time), CNBC cited the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and reported that the combined personal wealth of the top 10 billionaires this year exceeded $100 billion (approximately 11.95 trillion KRW).

Except for Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (MS), and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, most of them entered the so-called "12-digit club" (over $100 billion) for the first time.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who emerged as the world's richest person this year, saw his wealth increase by $121 billion (approximately 143.9295 trillion KRW) over the past year.

Thanks to Tesla's stock price rising about 60% this year alone, Musk solidified his overwhelming first place with assets totaling $277 billion (approximately 329.4915 trillion KRW). His wealth once exceeded $300 billion.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), despite selling 15.6 million Tesla shares since last month to pay taxes on stock options exercised, Musk secured 22.8 million shares through stock options, resulting in an increase in his holdings.

Jeff Bezos, who was dethroned by Musk, saw his wealth rise by $5 billion (approximately 5.9475 trillion KRW) this year to $195 billion (approximately 231.9525 trillion KRW).

Bernard Arnault, chairman of Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH) and the richest person in Europe, added $61 billion (approximately 72.5595 trillion KRW) this year, increasing his wealth to $176 billion (approximately 209.352 trillion KRW).

Bill Gates, who first entered the $100 billion era in 1999, increased his wealth this year despite spending a huge amount on philanthropy over the decades, thanks to the rise in MS stock price.

Gates' wealth reached $139 billion (approximately 165.3405 trillion KRW), up $7 billion (approximately 8.3265 trillion KRW) from last year.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google, saw their wealth increase by $47 billion (approximately 55.9065 trillion KRW) and $45 billion (approximately 53.5275 trillion KRW) respectively this year, boosted by Alphabet's stock price surpassing a market capitalization of $2 trillion last month. Page and Brin's wealth now stand at $130 billion and $125 billion respectively.

Mark Zuckerberg, the only person in their 30s among the world's top 10 billionaires and founder and CEO of Facebook, recorded wealth of $128 billion (approximately 152.256 trillion KRW). The stock price of Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram in which he holds 13%, rose more than 20% this year, increasing his wealth by $24 billion (approximately 28.548 trillion KRW) compared to last year.

Steve Ballmer, former MS CEO, saw his wealth increase by $41 billion (approximately 48.7695 trillion KRW) this year. Larry Ellison, founder and chairman of Oracle, and Warren Buffett also saw their wealth rise by $29 billion (approximately 34.4955 trillion KRW) and $21 billion (approximately 24.9797 trillion KRW) respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.