Chuck Collins
At the close of
2024 there were 813 billionaires in the United States with a combined total
wealth of $6.72 trillion, according to an analysis of the Forbes wealth data.
The total number
of billionaires has remained constant since the outlet published its 38th
annual World’s Billionaire List on April 2, 2024. But the combined wealth of
the nine-figure club increased by $1 trillion over the last 9 months, from $5.7
trillion at the beginning of April to $6.72 trillion at the end of 2024.
The top five
billionaires and their individual wealth are:
1. Elon Musk of Tesla/X and SpaceX with
$428 billion (up from $252.5 billion in September 2024).
2. Jeff Bezos of Amazon with $235.2
billion.
3. Larry Ellison of Oracle fame moving into
number three spot with $210.5 billion, surpassing Marc Zuckerberg.
4. Mark Zuckerberg of Meta with $204.4
billion.
5. Larry Page of Google, with $157.6
billion.
There are now 15
U.S. billionaires with more than $100 billion each. Their combined wealth
totals $2.4 trillion.
When Forbes
started tracking wealth in 1982, there were only 13 billionaires on the list of
America’s 400 wealthiest individuals. A person had to have a mere $75 million
to join that exclusive list of 400 — today, that number has spiked to $3.2
billion.
Dynastic
families closed 2024 huge pools of wealth:
+ Walton: Seven members of the Walton
Family with a combined wealth of $404.3 billion.
+ Mars: Six members of the Mars family with
a combined wealth of $130.4 billion.
+ Koch: Two members of the Koch family have
a combined wealth of $121.1 billion.
Many top
billionaires have seen their wealth surge since the onset of the Covid-19
pandemic.
On March 18,
2020, Elon Musk had wealth valued just under $25 billion. By 2024 year’s end,
his wealth soared to an unfathomable $428 billion.
Jeff Bezos saw
his wealth rise from $113 billion on March 18, 2020 to $235.2 billion in the
Dec 31, 2024 on the back of Amazon’s ravenous growth.
Three Walton
family members — Jim, Alice and Rob — saw their combined assets increase from
$161.1 billion on March 18, 2020 to $317 billion in the September 13, 2024
survey.
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