It paid to be a billionaire in 2023—or at least the top 10. The world’s 10 wealthiest people saw a collective increase in their fortunes in 2023 of nearly half a trillion dollars—a whopping 46% increase, or $465.6 billion. Compare that to an annual gain of 24% by the S&P 500.
The gains were across the board, though no one saw a bigger jump than Elon Musk, who was worth $137 billion on Jan. 2, 2023, and now stands at $229 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. Close behind him in terms of gains was Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, who jumped from $45.6 billion to $128 billion.
