- Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang are among those expected to hit trillionaire status, with Oxfam suggesting that there will be five within the next 10 years.
Within the next ten years five people will hold the title of trillionaire—with a 13-figure fortune to their name—according to a new study from Oxfam.
Previously, the charity said just one person would hit the milestone within a decade, but in its updated inequality report released Monday, it said it now believes a handful of people will reach the threshold.
It comes as billionaire wealth ballooned three times faster in 2024 than it did in 2023, Oxfam reported, citing data from Forbes.
The gains to the world’s ultra-wealthy in the past 12 months have been eye-watering.
Titans with major stakes in some of the world’s most valuable companies saw their fortunes swell on the promise of technologies like artificial intelligence and satellite industries emerging.
Markets also bounced courtesy of a second Trump presidency as the street expects a regulation-lite environment.
But while the going is good at the lofty heights of the world’s wealth ladder, Oxfam points out “crises of economy, climate and conflict mean the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990.”
Indeed, according to World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality platform (PIP) the number of people living below the $7-a-day poverty line in 2024 was 3.6 billion—a figure relatively unchanged from 1990.
“Our modern-day colonial economic system must be made radically more equal to end poverty,” writes Oxfam. “The cost should be borne by the richest people who benefit the most.”
And if Oxfam’s bid for a more leveled playing field is paid for by the richest people on the planet, then these five trillionaires will be the first to get the call.
But which individuals are likely to hit the mark?
Elon Musk
It’s no surprise that the man at the top of the pile—the world’s richest person, Elon Musk—is likely to be the first person to hit trillionaire status.
The Tesla CEO saw his wealth spike courtesy of a cozy relationship with the incoming Commander in Chief, with speculators hoping for some favorable policy choices over the next five years.
They have already noted Trump’s turnaround on EVs and his visits to Musk’s SpaceX launch sites.
At the time of writing, in the past year alone, Musk’s net worth has grown more than 105% from $219 billion to $449 billion.
Jeff Bezos
Amazon founder (and, bafflingly, Musk’s nemesis-turned-newfound-bestie) Jeff Bezos, is also a likely contender for trillionaire status.
Like many of his ultra-wealthy peers, Bezos’s boom in wealth also links not just to technology but, more specifically, to AI.
Bezos owns just under 10% of Amazon, which is investing heavily in AI to improve products like Alexa and customer service in its pharmacy and retail arms.
In addition, Bezos has entered the private sector space race and expects his Blue Origin rocket company to become bigger than Amazon.
At the time of writing, Bezos’s wealth has grown by more than 35% in the past year, from $181 billion to $245 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg pleased investors when he disentangled himself from his adventures in the Metaverse and began to focus more closely on AI.
The Magnificent 7 company has raced to release generative AI model Llama and, subsequently, Llama 2 and 3—a would-be rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT—powering a raft of new services such as AI Studio as well as technologies in its Ray-Ban sunglasses and Quest headsets.
These innovations have boosted the market, with Meta’s stock bouncing more than 60% in the past year.
Zuckerberg, the company’s largest shareholder, has seen his wealth grow correspondingly—up from $138 billion a year ago to $217 billion at the time of writing.
Jensen Huang
Of course, the world’s rich list might not look the same at the end of the 2020s as it does partway through.
That is why learning and training specialists Informa Connect Academy also identified the individuals who have seen their wealth rocket in recent years.
Musk came out on top, with the report expecting him to become a trillionaire by 2027.
According to the report, just a year later, Nvidia CEO and founder Jensen Huang is expected to join him, courtesy of an annual wealth growth rate of 111.88% between 2017 and 2024.
Huang’s net worth currently stands at $117 billion per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Bernard Arnault
Also on Informa Connect Academy’s list is luxury goods kingpin Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Controlling half of the group that produces everything from Veuve Clicquot champagne to Tiffany diamonds, Arnault and his family currently sit on a fortune worth $188 billion.
Despite industry fluctuations in key markets like China, Arnault’s wealth has grown from $161 billion to $188 billion in the past year.
Informa Connect Academy estimates that the Arnault estate will hit trillionaire status by 2030.
Informa’s report also identifies some potential trillionaires outside the current top 10 on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
This includes Gautam Adani, founder of a major infrastructure conglomerate in India, who is currently valued at $76 billion.
Also on Informa’s list is Prajogo Pangestu, who is 54th in the current world rankings with a net worth of $31.7 billion and is the founder of Indonesia’s largest petrochemical company, Barito Pacific.
