Musk returns as world's richest man; net worth of the richest up $1.5 trillion

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has returned as the world's richest man, recapturing the title from French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault. Musk earned an additional $95.4 billion through Thursday's close, boosted by the success of Tesla and SpaceX, after losing $138 billion in 2022, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

His net worth now exceeds Arnault's by more than $50 billion after LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE shares fell owing to a global slowdown in demand for luxury products.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos added more than $70 billion to his wallet this year and is now neck-and-neck with Arnault for second place, while Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's fortune increased by more than $80 billion.

According to the index, the collective net worth of the world's 500 richest persons increased by $1.5 trillion in 2023, entirely recovering from the $1.4 trillion lost the previous year.

The wealth of tech billionaires increased by 48 per cent, or $658 billion, because of the enormous buzz around artificial intelligence (AI).