The Growing Abyss of Wealth Inequality Among the World’s Top 24 Billionaires
The number of ultra-rich individuals is on the rise, according to a special report from The Wall Street Journal. This increase in wealth has led to a shift in the concept of rich and has created a new category known as super billionaires. With the gap between the ultra-rich and the rich widening, 16 individuals on the list have achieved centi-billionaire status.
In 1987, Forbes released its first list of billionaires, which included 140 individuals with a combined net worth of $295 billion. The richest person at that time was Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, a real estate mogul from Japan, with a reserve of $20 billion. Fast forward to today, and Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, has a net worth of $419.4 billion, making him over 21 times richer than Tsutsumi and more than two million times wealthier than an average American household.
The rise of super billionaires has coincided with a surge in the global luxury real estate market, with these individuals expanding their portfolios of luxury properties around the world. The total wealth of super billionaires now stands at $3.3 trillion, representing 16 percent of France’s nominal GDP and 16 percent of all billionaire reserves.
The list of super billionaires includes 24 individuals, with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bernard Arnault topping the charts. The majority of super billionaires come from the technology sector, highlighting the dominance of tech entrepreneurs in the current wealth landscape. This marks a significant shift from the industrial giants that dominated the wealth rankings in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Overall, the data shows a growing gap between the ultra-rich and ordinary individuals, with wealth accumulation reaching unprecedented levels. As billionaires continue to amass fortunes, the world of luxury real estate and tech entrepreneurship remains at the forefront of global wealth creation.
