Bernard Arnault lost more money than any other billionaire this year – while Elon Musk's fortune almost doubled.Chesnot/Getty Images; Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
However, some luxury titans are losing billions amid an industry downturn.
Here are the year's biggest billionaire winners and losers, by net worth.
2024 was a good year to be a billionaire.
The S&P 500 gained 25% this year, while the Nasdaq grew 33%. The uberwealthy, many of whom are invested in companies on each index, benefit greatly.
The five richest billionaires in 2024 saw their net worth climb a combined $542 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on 27 December.
All these billionaires come from the technology sector, where AI fever and post-election rally pushing many stocks to all-time highs.
However, there were some whose fortunes were very popular. Their money comes from some billionaires luxury retailwhich struggled this year, losing double digit billions.
Here are the billionaires who won and lost the most this year – and how much their fortunes changed on 27 December.
The year's biggest winners are…
Elon Musk: $239 billion richer
Musk, who supported Donald Trump's campaign, has become $200 billion richer since the election.Getty Images
Elon Muskwhich is worth $468 billion, nearly doubling its net worth in 2024, largely due to the stock market rally after Donald Trump's election victory. Since Election Day, he has become more than $200 billion richer.
His fortune is made up mainly of Tesla stock and equity in SpaceX. Although electric vehicle sales have slowed, Tesla's stock price has risen more than 70% this year. SpaceXmeanwhile, has doubled in value in the past year and is now worth $350 billion.
Musk, who donated more than $200 million to Trump's re-election efforts, has become an adviser to the president-elect, who tapped him and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead his newly created Department of Government Efficiency. Investors are adamant that his relationship with the commander-in-chief will benefit their companies.
Mark Zuckerberg: $85 billion richer
Zuckerberg, Meta's single largest shareholder, saw his fortune thanks to a strong year for the company.@zuck via Instagram
Mark Zuckerberg riding on the success of Meta's strong year. The CEO, who is worth $213 billion, owns about 13% of the company's stock, making him the single largest shareholder.
Meta is share price is up over 70% this year thanks to its strong advertising business and further push into AI. The company announced its first ever dividend in February, and its stock has reached multiple highs this year.
Jensen Huang: $78 trillion rich
A newly minted billionaire, Huang has become one of the most recognizable figures in the booming AI industry.I-hwa Cheng/Getty
The AI boom was matched by a new billionaire this year in Jensen Huang, who is worth $122 billion.
Nvidia's CEO and co-founder owns about 3.5% of the company, whose share price is up more than 175% year-to-date thanks to its dominance in the AI chip industry.
Larry Ellison: $70 billion richer
Larry Ellison, billionaire founder of Oracle.Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
Larry Ellison, worth $193 billion, is the founder and chief technology officer Oracle.
The database software company's stock, which makes up the bulk of his net worth, is up more than 60% year to date thanks to its cloud applications and infrastructure, which can be used to train AI.
Ellison also owns more than 1% of Tesla stock, which is worth $20 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Jeff Bezos: $69 billion richer
Jeff Bezos remains Amazon's largest shareholder and has benefited from the company's 2024 rally.Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The New York Times
Jeff Bezosco-founder of Amazon, remains the company's largest single shareholder, owning nearly 9% of the $2.4 trillion company. His stake in the retail and technology behemoth accounts for more than 80% of his $246 billion fortune.
Amazon's stock, which is up more than 45% year to date, surged after Trump's election. The company has also benefited from its leadership in e-commerce and cloud computing.
Meanwhile, some billionaires took hits to their fortunes.
Bernard Arnault: $31 billion poorer
By the numbers, Arnault is the biggest billionaire loser of the year.Tefano Rellandini/Getty Images
This year was one of the worst years for luxury in recent memory, and Bernard Arnault has lost 11-figures to show for it.
The CEO of LVMH, who is worth $176 billion, has a 48% stake in the company, which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. Luxury labels have struggled this year, particularly in China, which has experienced a real estate crisis and high youth unemployment.
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers: $25 billion poorer
Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers net worth is derived from her stake in L'Oréal.Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images
Francoise Bettencourt-Meyersheir to the L'Oréal fortune, is the second richest woman in the world with a fortune of $75 billion.
The cosmetics company has struggled this year as sales in China have taken a hit. Its share price is down more than 26% year to date.
Carlos Slim: $23 billion poorer
Carlos Slim has a diversified fortune, with stakes in many public companies in Latin America.AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who is worth $82 billion, saw his fortune slide with the stock of telecommunications giant América Móvil this year.
Colin Huang: $17 billion poorer
Colin Huang's fortune stems from Temu, the fast fashion retailer he founded.VCG/Getty Images
Almost all of Colin Huang is His share of a $35 billion fortune is in Pinduoduo, the parent company of fast-casual retailer Temu, whose stock has fallen more than 30% this year.
In August, Back announced that it expects profits to fall in the future due to increased competition and changing consumer sentiments. The company took another hit following Trump's victory, given the uncertainty over how future tariffs it can affect sales.
Francois Pinault: $14 billion poorer
Francois Pinault founded the luxury group Kering, whose stock has plummeted this year.REUTERS/Charles Plateau
Francois Pinault's fortune is another casualty of this year's luxury downturn.
He founded the luxury group Kering, which includes brands such as Balenciaga, Gucciand Saint Laurent, and the majority of his $22 billion net worth is tied up in the company, whose stock is down more than 40% year to date.
