Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, two titans of the tech industry, are locked in a fierce battle for both for physical and financial supremacy. In the first half of 2023, the world’s five-hundred richest individuals experienced a staggering surge in their fortunes. Amid a stock market rally fuelled by investor mania over artificial intelligence, Musk outpaced Zuckerberg, turning up the heat on their already intense rivalry…
After a week of controversial headlines for Elon Musk — including his confession of ongoing ketamine use for recreational and therapeutic purposes, as well as brawling with Lex Fridman in an effort to flex his martial arts skills — you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire may be looking to fly under the radar this week, licking both his figurative and battle-won wounds. However, an update to Bloomberg’s rich list for the first half of 2023 might just give Musk a reason to be cheerful…
Before we blow too much smoke up Musk’s proverbial backside, it’s worth noting that the past six months have proved to be an immensely profitable period for all of the world’s wealthiest individuals, with each member of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index raking in an astonishing average of $14 million USD per day. All in, the collective fortune of the top five-hundred richest people skyrocketed by a staggering $852 billion USD, marking a remarkable rebound from the Covid-induced economic slump.
WATCH: Zuckerberg shows us what he’s made of in a face-off with Lex Fridman.
This surge in wealth coincided with a remarkable stock market rally, whereby investors seemingly shrugged off concerns over central bank interest rate hikes, regional banking crises, and geopolitical tensions. The S&P 500 surged by 16%, and the Nasdaq 100 experienced its best-ever first half, soaring by 39%. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was the rapid and remarkable rise to prominence of all things artificial intelligence that drove this investor frenzy, fuelling an industry-wide surge in tech stocks.
While the upcoming physical rivalry between Musk and Mark Zuckerberg — the boy-genius turned Murph-munching weirdo mastermind Meta Platforms Inc. — continues to captivate the public, with a cage fight very much on the cards and rumoured to be hosted at The Colesseum, Musk has emerged as the clear winner in terms of financial gains: he added an astonishing $96.6 billion USD to his wealth during the first half of the year, solidifying his dominance in the top spot.
In contrast, Zuckerberg managed to amass $58.9 billion USD during the same period, putting him comfortably in second place.
However, not every billionaire had such a good day at the office. Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, experienced a significant decline in his net worth, shedding $60 billion USD. Adani faced a substantial blow when his conglomerate was accused of accounting fraud and stock manipulation by short-seller Hindenburg Research. The controversial allegations caused Adani’s fortune to plummet and triggered the largest one-day loss among all the world’s billionaires: $20.8 billion USD on January 27th. Unsurprisingly, Adani vehemently denies all wrongdoing.
Hindenburg Research didn’t stop there, however, with the short-seller managing to cause an upset for billionaire Carl Icahn of Icahn Enterprises. He too suffered a dramatic one-day drop after Hindenburg claimed Icahn’s stock was significantly overvalued in relation to its underlying holdings. Icahn’s net worth experienced a $13.4 billion USD decline, representing a 57% drop in his total worth — the most significant percentage decrease among all members of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Musk’s run of good luck seems set to continue into the second half of this year, after Tesla’s shares leapt by 6.9% on Monday, adding a colossal $13 billion to Musk’s ever-expanding fortune. As the rivalry between Musk and Zuckerberg intensifies, and flirtations with the idea of a cage match continue, it remains to be seen who will ultimately emerge victorious in this titanic battle of bytes vs brawn.