The number of billionaires has reached a record high of 2,781, with a combined wealth of $14.2 trillion, marking an increase of $2 trillion from 2023.

Axar.az, citing Forbes, reports that the wealthiest individuals have seen substantial gains, with the top 20 billionaires alone adding $700 billion to their fortunes.

The U.S. leads with 813 billionaires worth $5.7 trillion, followed by China with 473 billionaires valued at $1.7 trillion, despite economic challenges. India, with 200 billionaires, ranks third. The surge in wealth comes amid global stock market resilience against various economic and geopolitical challenges.

According to the analytical firm Altrata, Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and X, tops the ranking with a fortune of $419.4 billion. Following him are Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon (with $263.8 billion), Bernard Arnault, the owner of LVMH ($238.9 billion), Larry Ellison, the head of Oracle ($237 billion), and Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta ($220.8 billion)," it is noted.