Economic slowdown? What economic slowdown? Recession fear? What's that?
The first three months of the year have been a kind of giant lottery for the biggest fortunes of the planet.
While the rest of the world worries about a possible recession due to unabated inflation, their net worth has continued to rise.
The bulk of billionaires' net worth is linked to the performance of the markets. The Nasdaq index, which is dominated by tech companies, gained 16.5% this year to 12,189.45 points as of April 3. The S&P 500 rose 7.4% to 4,124.51 points.
The gains in the indexes are felt among the wealthiest. The combined fortune of the world's 10 richest people has increased $185 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Seven tech moguls are in this ranking.
Elon Musk's Fortune Is Up $40.8B in 2023
The billionaire whose net worth has increased the most this year is Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla (TSLA). It is currently estimated at $178 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, up $40.8 billion in just three months.
Musk, who is the second richest man in the world, owes the increase in his fortune to the stock market rebound of Tesla. The electric-vehicle maker's stock is up 58% this year.
Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury empire LVMH, (LVMUY) is the world's richest person, with a net worth estimated at $199 billion. The French executive recorded an increase of $36.6 billion in his fortune in three months.
LVMH, which owns the luxury brands Dior, Louis Vuitton and Veuve Clicquot champagnes, is taking advantage of the end of pandemic-related lockdowns.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon (AMZN) and the third richest person in the world, saw his net worth increase from $19.3 billion to $126 billion.
Bill Gates, co-founder of software giant Microsoft (MSFT), is the fourth richest person in the world. He's worth $121 billion, up $11.9 billion this year.
Gates' fortune increased by $724 million from April 2 to April 3, according to the Bloomberg index.
The fortunes of the other four tech billionaires in the top 10 have grown between $13 billion and $16 billion this year.
Larry Ellison saw his fortune grow by $15.2 billion to $107 billion. The founder of Oracle (ORCL) is No. 6 on the list.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's net worth is up $15.7 billion to $101 billion. This makes him the seventh richest person.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the two co-founders of Alphabet (GOOGL), the parent of Google, recorded respective jumps in their fortunes of $13.6 billion to $96.6 billion and $13 billion to $92.3 billion. They are ranked 8th and 9th in the world.
Amazon's stock price is up 22% this year, while Microsoft shares are up 20%. Oracle stock is up 15% and Alphabet stock has gained 18% this year.
One Woman Is Among the Top 10 Billionaires
The legendary investor Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, (BRK.A) (BRK.B) is the fifth richest person in the world. He's worth $108 billion, up $505 million.
One woman is in the Top 10 list: Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, heir to the L'Oreal cosmetics empire. Her net worth has increased this year by $18.3 billion to $89.8 billion. She is the 10th richest person in the world.
A noteworthy point in this Top 10: It includes eight Americans and two from France. No other nationality is in the Top 10.
The Mexican executive Carlos Slim is No. 11 on the Bloomberg list with a net worth of $86.6 billion, up $12.3 billion this year.
No. 12 is Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani. His fortune this year has declined $6.78 billion to $80.3 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of social-media giant Meta Platforms (META), parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is the 13th richest person. He has seen his net worth jump $32.8 billion to $78.4 billion this year.
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