SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. SpaceX’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, a Trump confidante, has been tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
2024: The Year of the Billionaire
At this point, just 813 U.S. billionaires hold a combined $6.7 trillion in wealth while 15 of them each have over $100 billion for a combined wealth over $2.4 trillion.
Jan 04, 2025
Based on an Institute for Policy Studies analysis of data from the ForbesReal-Time billionaire list from December 31, 2024, the last day of market activity, there are 813 billionaires with combined wealth totaling $6.72 trillion.
The total number of billionaires has remained constant at 813 when Forbes published their 38th annual World’s Billionaire List on April 2, 2024. But the combined wealth of U.S. billionaires increased over the last 9 months by $1 trillion, from $5.7 trillion at the beginning of April 2024 rising to $6.72 trillion at the end of 2024.
The top five billionaires and their individual wealth are:
- Elon Musk of Tesla/X and SpaceX with $428 billion (up from $252.5 billion in September 2024).
- Jeff Bezos of Amazon with $235.2 billion.
- Larry Ellison of Oracle fame moving into number three spot with $210.5 billion, surpassing Marc Zuckerberg.
- Mark Zuckerberg of Meta with $204.4 billion.
- Larry Page of Google, with $157.6 billion.
There are now 15 U.S. billionaires with more than $100 billion each and combined wealth totaling $2.4 trillion.
Among the wealthiest dynastic families on the Forbes list, these dynastic families closed 2024 with huge pools of wealth:
- Walton. Seven members of the Walton Family with combined wealth of $404.3 billion
- Mars. Six members of Mars family with combined wealth of $130.4 billion
- Koch. Two members of Koch family have a combined wealth of $121.1 billion
Many top billionaires have seen their wealth surge during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
On March 18, 2020, Elon Musk had wealth valued just under $25 billion. By 2024 year’s end, his wealth was $428 billion.
Jeff Bezos saw his wealth rise from $113 billion on March 18, 2020 to $235.2 billion in the Dec 31, 2024 analysis survey.
Three Walton family members—Jim, Alice and Rob—saw their combined assets increase from $161.1 billion on March 18, 2020 to $317 billion in the September 13, 2024 survey.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Chuck Collins
Chuck Collins is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org. His near future novel "Altar to An Erupting Sun” explores one community’s response to climate disruption. He is author of numerous books and reports on inequality and the racial wealth divide, including “The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Spend Millions to Hide Trillions,” “Born on Third Base,” and, with Bill Gates Sr., of “Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why American Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes.” See more of his writing at www.chuckcollinswrites.com
Based on an Institute for Policy Studies analysis of data from the ForbesReal-Time billionaire list from December 31, 2024, the last day of market activity, there are 813 billionaires with combined wealth totaling $6.72 trillion.
The total number of billionaires has remained constant at 813 when Forbes published their 38th annual World’s Billionaire List on April 2, 2024. But the combined wealth of U.S. billionaires increased over the last 9 months by $1 trillion, from $5.7 trillion at the beginning of April 2024 rising to $6.72 trillion at the end of 2024.
The top five billionaires and their individual wealth are:
- Elon Musk of Tesla/X and SpaceX with $428 billion (up from $252.5 billion in September 2024).
- Jeff Bezos of Amazon with $235.2 billion.
- Larry Ellison of Oracle fame moving into number three spot with $210.5 billion, surpassing Marc Zuckerberg.
- Mark Zuckerberg of Meta with $204.4 billion.
- Larry Page of Google, with $157.6 billion.
There are now 15 U.S. billionaires with more than $100 billion each and combined wealth totaling $2.4 trillion.
Among the wealthiest dynastic families on the Forbes list, these dynastic families closed 2024 with huge pools of wealth:
- Walton. Seven members of the Walton Family with combined wealth of $404.3 billion
- Mars. Six members of Mars family with combined wealth of $130.4 billion
- Koch. Two members of Koch family have a combined wealth of $121.1 billion
Many top billionaires have seen their wealth surge during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
On March 18, 2020, Elon Musk had wealth valued just under $25 billion. By 2024 year’s end, his wealth was $428 billion.
Jeff Bezos saw his wealth rise from $113 billion on March 18, 2020 to $235.2 billion in the Dec 31, 2024 analysis survey.
Three Walton family members—Jim, Alice and Rob—saw their combined assets increase from $161.1 billion on March 18, 2020 to $317 billion in the September 13, 2024 survey.
Chuck Collins
Chuck Collins is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org. His near future novel "Altar to An Erupting Sun” explores one community’s response to climate disruption. He is author of numerous books and reports on inequality and the racial wealth divide, including “The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Spend Millions to Hide Trillions,” “Born on Third Base,” and, with Bill Gates Sr., of “Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why American Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes.” See more of his writing at www.chuckcollinswrites.com
Based on an Institute for Policy Studies analysis of data from the ForbesReal-Time billionaire list from December 31, 2024, the last day of market activity, there are 813 billionaires with combined wealth totaling $6.72 trillion.
The total number of billionaires has remained constant at 813 when Forbes published their 38th annual World’s Billionaire List on April 2, 2024. But the combined wealth of U.S. billionaires increased over the last 9 months by $1 trillion, from $5.7 trillion at the beginning of April 2024 rising to $6.72 trillion at the end of 2024.
The top five billionaires and their individual wealth are:
- Elon Musk of Tesla/X and SpaceX with $428 billion (up from $252.5 billion in September 2024).
- Jeff Bezos of Amazon with $235.2 billion.
- Larry Ellison of Oracle fame moving into number three spot with $210.5 billion, surpassing Marc Zuckerberg.
- Mark Zuckerberg of Meta with $204.4 billion.
- Larry Page of Google, with $157.6 billion.
There are now 15 U.S. billionaires with more than $100 billion each and combined wealth totaling $2.4 trillion.
Among the wealthiest dynastic families on the Forbes list, these dynastic families closed 2024 with huge pools of wealth:
- Walton. Seven members of the Walton Family with combined wealth of $404.3 billion
- Mars. Six members of Mars family with combined wealth of $130.4 billion
- Koch. Two members of Koch family have a combined wealth of $121.1 billion
Many top billionaires have seen their wealth surge during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
On March 18, 2020, Elon Musk had wealth valued just under $25 billion. By 2024 year’s end, his wealth was $428 billion.
Jeff Bezos saw his wealth rise from $113 billion on March 18, 2020 to $235.2 billion in the Dec 31, 2024 analysis survey.
Three Walton family members—Jim, Alice and Rob—saw their combined assets increase from $161.1 billion on March 18, 2020 to $317 billion in the September 13, 2024 survey.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.