American pop star Taylor Swift has made her debut on the Forbes World Billionaires list, joining the ranks of the world’s richest people with a net worth of 1.1 billion US dollars. She is joined by Sam Altman, creator of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, who has also reached billionaire status with a net worth of one billion US dollars, on Tuesday, the 2nd of April, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
Forbes reported that the number of billionaires in 2024 was a record high of 2 781, 141 more than the previous year and 26 more than the previous record year of 2021. The total
wealth of these billionaires grew to 14.2 trillion US dollars, an all-time high.
Singer-songwriter Swift made her debut on the rich list after becoming a megastar. She has won four Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, but her success is not limited to music. Her presence at American football games (NFL), where she watches her boyfriend Travis Kelce, is believed to be the reason for the increase in NFL viewership.
Among the world’s ten richest people, eight are from the US – six have made their money in the tech industry.
Bernard Arnault and his family, who run the luxury goods group LVMH, top the list with 233 billion dollars, followed by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and X, with 195 billion dollars. In third place is Jeff Bezos of Amazon.
Chase Peterson-Withorn, Senior Wealth Editor at Forbes, said that
this year has been “amazing” for the world’s richest people.
He noted a record number of 14 centibillionaires with wealth worth more than twelve figures. He stressed that despite the financial uncertainties in many people’s lives, the super-rich continue to thrive.
Forbes reported that the wealth of the billionaire class of 2024 has increased by 255% compared to ten years ago and is now worth a total of two trillion US dollars, which means that only 0.5% of the world’s 2 781 billionaires own 14% of all billionaire wealth.
Geographically, the US still has more billionaires than any other country – 813 billionaires. China is still in second place, followed by India.
The magazine reported that 189 people, including 129 from mainland China, dropped off the billionaires list, mainly due to weak consumer spending and the collapse of the property market.
In addition, 32 billionaires passed away during the year, including prominent figures such as Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayed, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and singer Jimmy Buffett.
Also read: L’Oréal heiress becomes first woman with over 100 billion US dollars net worth
Follow us on Facebook and X!