Musk، Zuckerberg Lead $852 Billion Wealth Surge Among World Rich

The world’s 500 richest people added $852 billion to their fortunes in the first half of 2023.

Each member of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index made an average of $14 million per day over the past six months، according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was the best half-year for billionaires since the back half of 2020، when the economy rebounded from a Covid-induced slump.

A broad stock market rally

The gains coincided with a broad stock market rally، as investors brushed off the effects of central bank interest rate hikes، the ongoing war in Ukraine and a crisis in regional banks. The S&P 500 rose 16% and the Nasdaq 100 surged 39% for its best-ever first half as investor mania over artificial intelligence boosted tech stocks.

While Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg flirt with scheduling a cage match، Tesla Inc.’s chief executive officer came out on top in dollar terms. Musk، the world’s richest person، added $96.6 billion to his net worth this year through June 30، while Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Zuckerberg gained $58.9 billion.

Gautam Adani’s net worth sank the most in the six-month period، losing $60.2 billion. Adani، chairman of Adani Group، also posted the biggest one-day loss of any billionaire، shedding about $20.8 billion on Jan. 27، after short seller Hindenburg Research accused his conglomerate of accounting fraud and stock manipulation — a claim Adani denies.

Hindenburg، founded by Nate Anderson، also knocked down the net worth of another billionaire: Carl Icahn. His Icahn Enterprises LP had its steepest one-day drop after Hindenburg disclosed it was shorting the shares، saying the stock was significantly overvalued relative to its holdings. 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.

For Musk، the wealth gains spilled over into July as Tesla shares climbed 6.9% on Monday in New York، tacking on an additional $13 billion to his fortune.