Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta (formerly Facebook), has reached a new financial milestone. His net worth has surged to $200 billion, placing him in one of the world’s most exclusive wealth clubs. This elite group consists of only three people: Zuckerberg, Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla and SpaceX), and Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon).
Zuckerberg’s rise in wealth comes after Meta’s stock price jumped by almost 60% in 2024. This massive increase added $72 billion to his fortune, pushing his total worth to $200 billion. Meta’s shares are now trading at over $560 per share, reflecting growing investor confidence in the company’s future, particularly in its exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who stepped down as CEO but remains its executive chairman, has also seen a significant rise in his net worth. This year, Bezos’ wealth surged by $39 billion, bringing his total to $216 billion. This is largely thanks to Amazon’s stock rising by 28% in 2024, reaching nearly $190 per share. Despite stepping back from day-to-day operations, Bezos continues to benefit from Amazon’s dominance in e-commerce and cloud computing.
While Zuckerberg and Bezos are among the wealthiest, Elon Musk continues to hold the top spot. His net worth has soared by $36 billion this year, bringing his total fortune to an impressive $265 billion. Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, are at the forefront of innovation, particularly in electric vehicles, space exploration, and AI-powered technologies like self-driving cars and robots.
While Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Musk have thrived in 2024, others have not been so fortunate. Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, the luxury goods company behind brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior, was previously a member of the $200 billion club. However, LVMH’s stock has declined by 16% this year, reducing Arnault’s net worth by $30 billion to $177 billion. This drop has pushed him out of the ultra-rich group, leaving him in fifth place behind Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison.
One of the major factors driving the wealth of these tech billionaires is the rapid growth and investment in AI technologies. Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Meta, and Oracle are betting big on AI to revolutionize their industries. Tesla aims to enhance its self-driving cars, Amazon is leveraging AI to boost its cloud services and e-commerce, Meta is exploring new ways to use AI in social media and communication, and Oracle is building AI data centers.
These developments have caught the attention of investors, who are optimistic that AI will play a central role in shaping the future of these companies.
The broader stock market has also received a boost in recent months, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates. After raising rates aggressively to fight inflation, the Fed cut them for the first time in over a year. Lower interest rates generally encourage more spending and borrowing, which in turn fuels economic growth. This also makes investing in stocks more appealing compared to safer options like bonds or savings, further driving up stock prices and, by extension, the wealth of shareholders like Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Musk.
2024 has proven to be a banner year for tech billionaires, with Zuckerberg’s entry into the $200 billion club highlighting the growing importance of AI and technological innovation in shaping the global economy. As these industry leaders continue to push the boundaries of technology, their fortunes are likely to keep growing.
