By Annie Massa and Jack Witzig | Bloomberg
In the first half of 2023, the world’s 500 wealthiest individuals saw a combined increase of $852 billion in their fortunes.
According to data collected by Bloomberg, each member of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index earned an average of $14 million per day over the past six months. This marks the most prosperous half-year for billionaires since the latter half of 2020, which experienced an economic upswing following the Covid-induced downturn.
SEE MORE: Elon Musk and a breakdown of his global empire
These gains coincide with a general upturn in the stock market, as investors dismiss the impact of central bank interest rate hikes, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and a crisis in regional banks. The S&P 500 rose by 16%, and the Nasdaq 100 had its best-ever first half, surging by 39% due to investor excitement surrounding tech stocks and artificial intelligence.
In terms of the highest earnings in dollars, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk emerged on top. Musk, the richest person in the world, added $96.6 billion to his net worth in the first half of the year, up until June 30. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg also experienced significant gains, accumulating $58.9 billion.
Gautam Adani suffered the most significant decline in net worth during this six-month period, losing $60.2 billion. Adani, the chairman of Adani Group, also faced the largest single-day loss among billionaires, dropping approximately $20.8 billion on January 27. This decline was a result of Hindenburg Research accusing his conglomerate of accounting fraud and stock manipulation, a claim Adani denies.
RELATED: 31 billionaires have more money than US Treasury
Hindenburg Research, founded by Nate Anderson, also impacted the net worth of another billionaire, Carl Icahn. Hindenburg disclosed that it was shorting shares of Icahn Enterprises LP, asserting that the stock was significantly overvalued in relation to its holdings. As a result, Icahn’s net worth experienced a 57% drop, amounting to $13.4 billion. This decline represents the largest percentage decrease among all members of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index during this period.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
