The world’s 10 richest people became more than $400 billion richer in 2021

Musk started 2021 with a net worth of $156 billion. At the end of the day, he was $121 billion richer. He invests part of his fortune in his space company, SpaceX. He previously said he plans to pay $11 billion in taxes. Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is entering the new calendar year with a net worth of $190 billion, up $4.5 billion from last year.

The third richest man in the world is French Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury group LVMH, which owns fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton and wine companies such as Hennessy and champagne brand Moët & Chandon. His net worth grew $61 billion in 2021 to $176 billion in total. Arno is the only European in the top ten, the others are Americans. Eight of the world’s ten richest people are also active in the technology sector.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, added $25 billion to his net worth in 2021. His fortune was $128 billion at the start of the new year, according to the Billionaires Index. Microsoft founder Bill Gates started 2022 with a net worth of $139 billion. The net worths of Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google, crossed the $100 billion mark in 2021 and amounted to $130 billion and $125 billion, respectively, at the beginning of 2021.

Number 11 on the Billionaire Index is Françoise Bettencourt-Myers of France, the richest woman in the world. Her net worth is around $94 billion. She is the granddaughter of L’Oréal founder Eugene Schuyler.