The wealth of the world’s richest 500 richest people grew by $852 billion in the first half of 2023, the best half-year for billionaires since the last half of 2020.
In the last six months, each member of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index made an average of $14 million per day over the past six months, according to a report by Bloomberg.
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.
World’s richest person Elon Musk, added $96.6 billion to his net worth in the first six months of 2023 to top the list of most gains by billionaires.
He was followed by Zuckerberg, who gained $58.9 billion and then Jeff Bezos with $47.4 billion addition.
Musk’s wealth surged another $13 billion on Monday – the first trading day of July as Tesla shares climbed 6.9% in New York.
On the other hand, Gautam Adani’s net worth sank the most in the six-month period, losing $60.2 billion.
Adani, chairman of Adani Group, lost about $20.8 billion on Jan. 27.
His losses followed an allegation of accounting fraud and stock manipulation by short seller Hindenburg Research. Adani denied the allegations.
Adani was followed by Carl Icahn in terms of loses. Hindenburg, had claimed that Icahn Enterprises LP 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.
Source: Bloomberg
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.