Mark Zuckerberg's Wealth Surge and Rich List Descent

In the past 15 months, Mark Zuckerberg has seen his fortune swell by $23 billion; however, he's slipped four positions on the global wealth leaderboard as other tech moguls have outperformed him.

During October 2024, Zuckerberg, the leader of Meta, surpassed Jeff Bezos, Amazon's executive chair, to seize the position as the second wealthiest individual globally for the first time. As of the latest, his wealth has climbed to $229 billion, positioning him in sixth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Previously, Zuckerberg was merely $50 billion behind Elon Musk in October last year. Today, Musk's fortune has soared to $632 billion, creating a staggering $400 billion chasm between the two.

Meanwhile, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the masterminds behind Alphabet, have each added about $100 billion to their respective fortunes, propelling them to values of $256 billion and $238 billion. This leap has catapulted Page to second and elevated Brin to fourth on the Bloomberg's list.

Jeff Bezos has augmented his wealth by $39 billion, reaching $244 billion, securing the third spot. On the other hand, Larry Ellison, Oracle's co-founder, briefly topped the list in September but now stands fifth with a fortune of $231 billion, boosted by a $52 billion increase.

Meta Lags Behind in Stock Performance

The reshuffling of the billionaire rankings since Zuckerberg attained the second position largely mirrors tech stock performances during this period.

Leading the charge, Tesla's and Alphabet's stocks have surged by 94% and 78% respectively. Amazon follows with a 22% increase, as investors bank on these tech giants to steer the future AI landscape.

Meta, however, has lagged with only an 11% stock increase. Oracle grew 7%, while LVMH nudged up less than 2%.

Factors Affecting the Rich List Rankings

SpaceX's valuation made a substantial leap to $800 billion following a secondary stock sale preceding a future IPO, enhancing Musk's equity in the space enterprise.

This surge in Tesla and SpaceX's values has cemented Musk's lead atop the wealth list. Likewise, Alphabet's growth has propelled Page and Brin upward. Amazon's stock boost has allowed Bezos to hold onto the third spot. Ellison's substantial holdings in Oracle and Tesla have kept him at fifth.

Interestingly, despite Zuckerberg's significant wealth increase, he has fallen to the sixth position. Nevertheless, fluctuating market conditions suggest that his current standing may not be permanent, as he trails just $27 billion behind Larry Page in second.