Forbes has released its annual ranking of the richest billionaires in the United States, known as The Forbes 400. This year, the list is dominated by record-breaking wealth, with the 400 richest people in America worth a collective $5.4 trillion. It now takes a record $3.3 billion to make the list, up from $2.9 billion in 2023. The increase in wealth was largely driven by a select group of 25 individuals who added $500 billion to their fortunes, with a dozen of them worth $100 billion or more.
The richest person in America remains Elon Musk, with an estimated net worth of $244 billion. Despite a $7 billion drop in wealth over the past year, Musk still leads the list by a significant margin, with Jeff Bezos coming in second at $197 billion. Mark Zuckerberg climbed to the third spot with an estimated net worth of $181 billion, thanks to a rebound in the shares of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Alice Walton continues to hold the title of the richest woman in the U.S., with an estimated net worth of $89.2 billion. She is one of 67 women on The Forbes 400, up from 60 the previous year. Overall, the list’s women are worth a combined $839 billion, compared to $621 billion in 2023. Diane Hendricks remains the wealthiest self-made woman in America, with a net worth of $21.9 billion, one of 13 women on the list who built their fortunes from scratch.
Despite the increasing wealth required to make the list, 23 newcomers managed to secure a spot this year, including Todd Graves, Peter Cancro, Jayshree Ullal, Leonid Radvinsky, and Alex Karp. Additionally, 11 individuals who fell off the list in previous years made a comeback, including Donald Trump, who rode the volatile stock price of his media company back onto the list. However, there were also 30 drop-offs from the list, including Vince McMahon and Aneel Bhusri.
For the first time ever, there are more American billionaires not on The Forbes 400 than there are on it, with 415 billionaires not making the cut. This includes notable figures such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, and Oprah Winfrey. The youngest member of the list is Lukas Walton, age 38, with an estimated net worth of $33.9 billion, while the average age of list members is 70, with the eldest being David Murdock, age 101.
Despite the massive wealth of the richest Americans, their generosity in terms of charitable giving has not matched their financial success. Forbes found that a third of list members have donated less than 1% of their fortunes, with only 2.5% of individuals giving away 20% or more, earning them a high philanthropy score. Overall, the 2024 Forbes 400 showcases the immense wealth and influence of the richest individuals in America, as well as the growing disparity between the ultra-rich and those struggling to make the cut.
