The world’s billionaires are riding high, with Forbes finding a record 2,781 of them around the globe this year, worth a record $14.2 trillion altogether. With many markets up, the surge in wealth has made 265 people billionaires over the past year, up from 150 newcomers in 2023.
These fresh faces include a fashion legend, an NBA hall-of-famer and one very famous popstar. They collectively command $510 billion in wealth, or $1.9 billion on average, and hail from 32 countries.
Once again, the United States leads the pack, with 67 Americans joining the ranks. The wealthiest among them is Todd Graves, the founder of fast-food chain Raising Cane’s, whose net worth stands at an estimated $9.1 billion.
The most famous newcomer is, of course, Taylor Swift, whose record-breaking, five-continent Eras Tour is the first to surpass $1 billion in revenue. The 34-year-old pop star amassed an estimated $1.1 billion fortune, based on earnings from the blockbuster tour, the value of her music catalog and her real estate portfolio. Swift is the first musician to hit ten-figure status solely based on her songs and performances.
NBA legend and businessman Earvin “Magic” Johnson is new this year, too, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion, thanks to investments in professional sports teams, movie theaters, Starbucks franchises, real estate and healthcare. And French fashion designer Christian Louboutin, the man behind the iconic red-soled high heels, joins the ranks with an estimated $1.2 billion fortune.
At 19 years old, Livia Voigt is not only this year’s youngest newcomer, but also the world’s youngest billionaire. (Previously the youngest was eyeglasses heir Clement Del Vecchio of Italy, who is just two months older.) Voigt and her elder sister Dora Voigt de Assis each inherited a $1.1 billion fortune based on their stakes in Brazilian turbine manufacturer WEG, which was cofounded by their grandfather, the late Werner Ricardo Voigt (d. 2016).
