Elon Musk remains the world’s richest individual with a staggering $314 billion net worth, thanks to Tesla’s meteoric rise. However, the person who earned the most in 2024 is Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, whose fortune grew by an impressive $84.8 billion. Surprisingly, despite this massive financial boost, Huang does not rank among the world’s top 10 billionaires. What explains this anomaly?
Jensen Huang: The Highest Earner of 2024
Jensen Huang achieved the title of 2024’s highest earner, driven by the incredible success of NVIDIA, the leading company in chip manufacturing and artificial intelligence development.
NVIDIA’s Market Surge: The company’s market valuation skyrocketed to an unprecedented $3.621 trillion, overtaking Apple as the world’s most valuable company.
Huang’s Stake: Owning 3% of NVIDIA, Huang saw his net worth climb to $129 billion, placing him at 11th in global billionaire rankings.
Elon Musk’s Reign as the Richest Person
Meanwhile, Elon Musk saw his wealth grow by $84.7 billion in 2024, maintaining his position as the richest person alive. His net worth reached $314 billion, driven by a 29% rise in Tesla’s stock price.Musk’s wealth remains far ahead of the runner-up, Jeff Bezos, whose net worth stands at $230 billion. The $84 billion gap highlights Musk’s dominance in the billionaire space.
Why Isn’t Jensen Huang in the Top 10?
Despite earning more than Musk in 2024, Huang’s total net worth is not enough to place him among the top 10 billionaires due to a key factor: ownership percentage. Huang owns only 3% of NVIDIA, limiting his personal fortune despite the company’s unprecedented success. In contrast, top billionaires like Elon Musk (Tesla) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) hold much larger stakes in their companies, significantly amplifying their wealth.
Tech Titans Thrive in 2024
Jensen Huang’s financial success underscores the transformative power of technology-driven industries in reshaping global wealth. His inability to crack the top 10 richest list, despite record-breaking earnings, highlights the critical role of ownership stakes in billionaire rankings. Meanwhile, the broader trends of 2024 reflect a technological shift in wealth creation, with tech leaders thriving while traditional sectors like luxury goods and telecom struggle to maintain their dominance.
Huang’s financial growth is part of a broader trend of tech billionaires dominating wealth accumulation:
- Mark Zuckerberg (Meta): +$80.5 billion, total wealth $209 billion.
- Larry Ellison (Oracle): +$79.4 billion, total wealth $202 billion.
However, other sectors faced setbacks:
- Bernard Arnault (LVMH): Lost $35.3 billion, reducing his wealth to $172 billion.
- Carlos Slim (Telecom): Also experienced significant financial losses.
