In a remarkable year for billionaires, the world's wealthiest individuals collectively added over $700 billion to their net worth in 2024. According to a recent Forbes report, the top 10 billionaires who made the most money in 2024 were dominated by tech industry leaders and US citizens. The list includes notable names such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and the Walton family.

The perfect storm of AI hype, a strong US economic outlook, and expectations surrounding Donald Trump's victory led to a surge in stock prices for companies owned by the wealthiest billionaires. This lucrative environment drove up the valuations of these companies, further enriching their owners who added a combined $730 billion to their wealth this year.

The tech industry produced the highest number of top 10 billionaires in 2024, with seven of the biggest gainers being US citizens. Tech behemoths like Meta, Alphabet, Oracle, Amazon, Nvidia, and Dell contributed significantly to the wealth of these billionaires.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, made history by surpassing the $400 billion net worth mark, a milestone never before recorded by Forbes. His wealth grew by an astonishing $188 billion since the start of 2024, fueled by Tesla's 68% stock surge, xAI's $50 billion valuation, and SpaceX's $350 billion valuation. Beyond business, Musk's influence is expanding into the political arena, with significant moves including a donation of at least $200 million to Donald Trump's reelection campaign.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, made history in 2024 by becoming the fourth billionaire to surpass the $200 billion mark, driven by a staggering 67% surge in Meta's shares. This remarkable feat marks a significant turnaround for Zuckerberg, who had previously suffered a major setback in 2022 when Meta's stock plummeted 64%, ranking him among the biggest losers that year.

Larry Ellison, the chairman of Oracle, briefly became the world's second-richest person in September, thanks to Oracle's 68% stock surge driven by AI investor interest. Ellison owns 1.1 billion shares of Oracle and remains one of 2024's biggest gainers, up $86 billion.

Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, debuted among the world's top 10 richest individuals in 2024, driven by Nvidia's 185% stock surge. The company's dominance in AI technology propelled Huang's wealth, with him owning approximately 3% of Nvidia.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has seen his wealth soar by nearly $70 billion in 2024, thanks to a 53% surge in Amazon's stock price. He's been strategically selling his shares, offloading $13.6 billion worth so far this year, more than any other US billionaire. Additionally, Bezos' relocation to Florida likely saved him an estimated $1 billion in taxes on those sales.

Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies, briefly joined the world's top ten richest people this month thanks to a bump in Broadcom stock. Dell owns an estimated 210 million shares of the company, due to the 2023 deal to merge VMWare, previously spun out of Dell Technologies, with AI chipmaker Broadcom. Shares of Dell Technologies are up, too, by more than 50%.

The Walton siblings, Rob, Jim, and Alice, have all benefited from the significant growth of Walmart's stock, which has surged nearly 80% due to rising e-commerce sales and decreasing consumer item prices. The descendants of Walmart cofounder Sam Walton collectively own around 45% of the retail giant's stock, yielding substantial gains in 2024.

Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, remains a controlling shareholder and serves on the board of Alphabet, Google's parent company. Despite antitrust challenges, including a U.S. Department of Justice recommendation to break up the company, Alphabet's shares surged over 30% in 2024, boosting Page's fortune by $40 billion.

In conclusion, the year 2024 has been a phenomenal one for billionaires, with the tech industry and US citizens dominating the top 10 list of biggest gainers. As the global economy continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these billionaires continue to shape the business landscape and expand their influence.