Taylor Swift Joins The $100bn Club
According to a new list, Taylor Swift and Elon Musk have both been ranked among the wealthiest people in the world. The American pop star made her debut on the Forbes World’s Billionaires List with a net worth of $1.1 billion, along with Sam Altman, the creator of AI chatbot ChatGPT, who also has a net worth of $1 billion. Topping the list is Bernard Arnault and his family, who are estimated to have a net worth of $233 billion.
Forbes reported a record number of 2,781 billionaires in 2024, which is 141 more than last year and 26 more than the previous record set in 2021. The total wealth of these billionaires is $14.2 trillion. Swift, who is a singer-songwriter, achieved superstar status and won the album of the year award at this year’s Grammy Awards. Her album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), was also the top-selling vinyl LP of last year. She has also made an impact in other industries, such as increasing NFL viewing figures by attending American football games to support her boyfriend Travis Kelce.
When looking at the top 10 richest people in the world, eight of them are from the US, with six making their fortune in the technology industry. Following Arnault and his family, Musk, the owner of Tesla and X (formerly Twitter), is in second place with a net worth of $195 billion, followed by Amazon owner Jeff Bezos in third place. While Musk’s wealth has increased by 8% since last year, it is down from his net worth in November 2021 when he became the first person ever to be worth $300 billion. The Forbes list also includes basketball legend Magic Johnson, who has a net worth of $1.2 billion, and TV producer Dick Wolf, known for producing popular shows like Law and Order and Chicago PD. Chase Peterson-Withorn, a senior editor at Forbes, stated that it has been an “amazing” year for the world’s richest people, with a record number of 14 centi-billionaires (those with fortunes in the 12-figure range).
Despite financial uncertainty for many, the super-rich continue to thrive. The total wealth of the 2,781 billionaires is $2 trillion, which is 255% more than a decade ago. This means that just 0.5% of the world’s billionaires hold 14% of all billionaire wealth. The US has the most billionaires, with 813 on the list, followed by China and India. In the UK, the richest person is hedge fund manager Michael Platt, followed by Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and inventor Sir James Dyson. Forbes also reported that 189 people have fallen off the list, including 129 from mainland China, due to weak consumer spending and a decline in the real estate market. Additionally, 32 billionaires passed away, including Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayed, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, and singer Jimmy Buffett.
