The world’s 10 richest men made $64 billion from Trump’s victory

07 Nov 2024, 16:43 by https://www.facebook.com/17108852506 · AlterNet

Elon Musk in May 2022 (Creative Commons)
Carl Gibson
November 07, 2024Election 2024

November 5, 2024 wasn't just a good day for President-elect Donald Trump — it was also a big win for the world's wealthiest men, according to a new report.

CNN reported Thursday that in the immediate aftermath of the election, the net worths of the 10 richest billionaires in the world skyrocketed. The Bloomberg Billionaire Index, which tracks the growth and contraction in net worth of the super-rich in real time, showed that there was a $64 billion jump in the collective wealth of centabillionaires at the top of the list.

The biggest financial boon of the night went to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — who also owns X (formerly Twitter) — with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index pegging the Trump megadonors net worth at $290 billion. That's a $26.5 billion jump from before the election. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saw his total wealth climb by more than $7.1 billion following the decision. And Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison (who backed Trump) saw his net worth grow by more than $5.5 billion on Wednesday.

Other ultra-high net worth individuals who saw their fortunes increase include Microsoft CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, who come in at #6 and #10 on the Billionaire Index, respectively. Gates saw his net worth jump nearly $2 billion to $159 billion, and Ballmer got $2.81 billion more after the election, pegging his net worth at $146 billion.

Meanwhile, CNN reported that Google executives Larry Page and Sergey Brin (ranking at #7 and #8 on the index, respectively) also saw a significant bump in their net worths along with Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. None of those men publicly endorsed a candidate in this election cycle.

The spike in net worths of the 10 richest men is likely due to the value of their stock portfolios jumping significantly after Trump's election victory on Tuesday night, with ultra-high net worth individuals holding most of their assets in the form of company stock. According to CNN, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 Index all hit new record highs after Trump was elected to a second term. Investors are likely bullish on a second Trump term bringing about a new round of tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.

"There is this huge perception of business friendly, tax-friendly regime coming into place, especially with [Republicans] winning the Senate," AgentSmyth chief operating officer Michael block told the network.

Trump's signature accomplishment in his first term was the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which provided roughly $1.5 trillion in federal income tax cuts — primarily to the richest Americans. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) wrote in a report earlier this year that the top one percent of income earners will see an average tax cut of approximately $60,000 in 2025.

"As a share of after-tax income, tax cuts at the top — for both households in the top 1 percent and the top 5 percent — are more than triple the total value of the tax cuts received for people with incomes in the bottom 60 percent," CBPP researchers wrote.

Click here to read CNN's report in full.