Musk\u2019s net worth increased by nearly 50% year-on-year to $645bn. The tycoon, whose business interests include xAI, an artificial intelligence company, became the first person to have a net-worth of more than $500bn in October this year<\/a>. He could become the world\u2019s first trillionaire<\/a> if he hits targets set by Tesla, the electric car company he runs.<\/p>\n Musk sits ahead of Google co-founder Larry Page and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the overall rankings of the world\u2019s wealthiest billionaires. Page is estimated<\/a> to be worth $270bn, and Bezos $255bn.<\/p>\n The growing concentration<\/a> of wealth among an ultra elite has fuelled debate about how best to rebalance economies, with some calling for more effective wealth taxes<\/a>.<\/p>\n The chief executive of the chipmaker Nvidia, Jensen Huang, was also one of the biggest gainers. The value of his investments, equity and other assets rose $41.8bn, taking his personal fortune to $159bn. This puts him ninth in the overall Bloomberg Billionaire Index<\/a>, and eighth among the top 10 US tech billionaires, according to a separate report from the Financial Times.<\/p>\n Huang sold nearly $1bn worth of shares this year, cashing in on Nvidia\u2019s soaring stock price. Its relatively advanced computer chips are a critical component in building the more powerful processing capability required by AI. It became the world\u2019s first $5tn company in October, larger than the economic output of some of the world\u2019s biggest economies, such as Japan or India.<\/p>\n List of Silicon Valley\u2019s wealthiest billionaires<\/a><\/p>\n The wealth of Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google, swelled by around $102bn and $92bn respectively, as investors bet on the company\u2019s AI progress, including its own in-house efforts to build new chips, known as a Tensor Processing Unit.<\/p>\n Such has been the surge in AI investments in recent years that the Bank of England has warned of a \u201csudden correction\u201d<\/a> in global markets if investor confidence proves misplaced.<\/p>\n \u201cOn a number of measures, equity market valuations appear stretched, particularly for technology companies focused on artificial intelligence,\u201d top policymakers at the central bank said in October.<\/p>\n This means that stock markets are \u201cparticularly exposed should expectations around the impact of AI become less optimistic\u201d, they said.<\/p>\n While technology is the dominant industry among gainers in the billionaire rankings, there are other familiar names, too. Bernard Arnault, the French chair of the LVMH luxury goods company, which makes the likes of Louis Vuitton bags and Dom Perignon champagne, saw his wealth rise by $28.5bn over the past year. The 76-year-old controls around half of LVMH and analysts have turned more positive on the stock in recent months, with strong spending by wealthy North American consumers.<\/p>\n The Spaniard Amancio Ortega, who holds 59% of Inditex, the parent company of the high street clothing retailer Zara, and seven other brands, was among the biggest gainers, adding $34.3bn to his fortune, which sits at $136bn. This was boosted by a record dividend of \u20ac3.1bn from the retail group.<\/p>\n Quick GuideContact us about this storyShow The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.<\/p>\n If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019. <\/p>\n SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post<\/p>\n If you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766766188_359_4000.jpg\")
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