Money is a favorite topic of most people. Many social networks, magazines, and other sources constantly talk about the richest people in the world. It may seem as if billionaires are everywhere. But America’s wealthiest people are not that many. As of 2024, the number is just over 800. Millionaires are an order of magnitude more – practically 22,000,000 Americans. In our material below, we will delve into the topic of billionaires in more detail and provide specific names.
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As of September 2024, the number of billionaires in America is 801. The combined net worth of their capital is equal to 6.22 trillion USD. Forbes analysis data shows that there are 801 billionaires living in America today. Compared to Forbes statistics for the same time in 2023, the number of billionaires has decreased by 11. Despite the decrease in rich people, their assets have increased. The combined worth of wealth has increased by 500 million USD. The growth was noticeable during the last five months.
At the moment, the list of rich people looks as follows:
Also, separately, it is worth noting the wealthiest families. At the moment, this list includes three families:
Since Forbes started tracking the world’s wealth in 1982, there have been only 16 billionaires on its list. You had to have a capital of 75 million USD or more to get there. To get on the list of the wealthiest people, you must have a capital of at least 3.2 billion USD.
Note that the fortunes of most billionaires increased rapidly with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, in March 2020, Elon Musk’s fortune was almost 25 billion USD. By the beginning of 2021, his capital increased to an impressive 185 billion USD. In 2022, his financial fortune peaked at 252 billion USD. As of 2024, Musk will be at the top of the list of the richest people.
We also suggest checking out the list of states with the most billionaires. We want to say in advance that this list is not the same as the one above:
It’s worth noting that there are also a few states where no billionaires are found:
At the same time, Washington, D.C., has the highest number of billionaires per 1 million population — 11 billionaires.
The net worth of all U.S. billionaires has increased by 88% in the last four years since the coronavirus pandemic started. However, as of March 2020, the number of billionaires in the U.S. was 614. Their combined fortune was 2.9 trillion USD.
Four years later, in March 2024, Forbes published its list of billionaires, but the number in the country was 737 people. Their combined fortune is 5.5 trillion USD, an 88% increase. The fortune is counted continuously based on Forbes Real Time Billionaire Data.
The rapid growth of capital can be seen in the example of Jeff Bezos. The Amazon founder’s capital increased from 113 billion USD to 192.8 billion USD in four years. This amount remained with him after he paid tens of billions as compensation after divorce proceedings. Also, Jeff Bezos regularly donates money to charity.
The financial condition of the main heirs to Walmart’s fortune has also increased quite noticeably. The three members of the Walton family—Alice, Rob, and Jim—have seen their combined assets increase from 161.1 billion USD to 229.6 billion USD. In 2020, only one American billionaire —Jeff Bezos — had over 100 billion USD in aggregate.
But among the rich people, it was not without losses either. The only billionaire on the list of the 15 wealthiest Americans in 2020 whose net worth has decreased over the past four years was Mackenzie Scott. She is Bezos’s ex-wife. Her net worth decreased from 36 to 35.4 billion USD during this time. It is worth noting that this happened due to quite aggressive philanthropy.
The total net worth of the 400 wealthiest individuals in the USA exceeds 4 trillion USD, a staggering figure highlighting the exponential wealth growth among the rich. However, this prosperity is not without its challenges, with rising prices being a significant concern.
To summarise, there are quite a few billionaires in the United States. As of September 2024, their number was 801. Given the data and dynamics in the economic world, rich people are constantly increasing their capital. But there is also another question—how to keep it. Time will show how effectively they do it.
