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10 World Richest Persons As Of January 2024

Published

2 years ago

January 4, 2024

The net worth of the 10 wealthiest individuals on earth has increased by $30 billion in just one month, reaching a total of almost $1.47 trillion as of January 1, Forbes reports.

Mark Zuckerberg made a significant jump in the rankings, moving up to the No. 5 spot from his previous position on December 1 as the 7th richest person in the world.

He has surpassed Bill Gates who held the title of the world’s wealthiest individual for a significant period.

Elon Musk continues to hold the title of the wealthiest individual globally, with a net worth of $251 billion.

The CEO of Tesla also holds stakes in SpaceX, a privately held rocket firm, and social media company X, formerly known as Twitter.

In December, the software tycoon behind Oracle, Larry Ellison, experienced a significant decline in his fortune.

With Oracle’s stock dropping by 10%, Ellison’s wealth plummeted by $11.2 billion, making him the biggest loser among the top ten. Ellison maintains his position as the fourth richest person, with a net worth of $135.3 billion.

Below is the full list of the richest individuals in the world as of January at 12:00 am. according to a Forbes report on Thursday.

1. Elon Musk

Musk serves as the CEO of Tesla, an electric car company, SpaceX, a rocket firm, and X, a social media company previously known as Twitter. With a significant stake in Tesla, he has strategically utilised his stock and options, even using some as collateral for loans. A significant portion of his wealth is attributed to the car company. In October 2022, he made a significant purchase of X, which was then known as Twitter, for $44 billion.

He is currently believed to possess approximately 74% ownership of this prominent social media company. However, according to Forbes, it is worth noting that the current value of the company is now less than half of what he initially paid for it.

2. Bernard Arnault

Bernard Arnault, the CEO and chairman of LVMH, has successfully established the largest luxury goods company globally, boasting an impressive portfolio of around 70 fashion and cosmetics brands.

Some of the most well-known brands include Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Moet & Chandon, and Sephora. In January 2021, LVMH made a significant acquisition by purchasing jeweller Tiffany & Co. for $15.8 billion.

3. Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and served as its CEO until July 2021, while continuing as chairman. In July of that year, he embarked on a space journey aboard a rocket developed by his private space exploration company, Blue Origin, which he has generously supported with substantial investments. In December 2023, his wealth increased by $5.8 billion due to a rise in the value of Amazon shares.

4. Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison co-founded software firm Oracle in 1977 and led it as CEO until 2014. Currently, he holds the position of chairman and Chief Technology Officer at the company. In recent years, Oracle has made a number of significant acquisitions, one of which was the acquisition of Sun Microsystems in 2010 for $7.4 billion.

5. Mark Zuckerberg

In 2004, Zuckerberg co-founded what is now known as Meta Platforms during his time as a student at Harvard University. With 3.88 billion monthly users, it has become the largest social network in the world. In addition to its platform, the company also has ownership of Instagram and WhatsApp, which were acquired and significantly expanded. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, led the company to go public in 2012 and currently retains approximately 13% ownership.

6. Bill Gates

Gates was first recognised as a billionaire by Forbes in 1987. He held the title of the world’s richest person from 1995 to 2017, with the exception of 2008 and the years 2010 to 2013.

Due to his substantial contributions to the Gates Foundation, which amount to $59 billion, including a generous $20 billion gift in July 2022, he relinquished his title as the wealthiest individual in 2018, being surpassed by Jeff Bezos.

In 1975, Gates left Harvard to cofound Microsoft with his high school classmate Paul Allen, inventing one of the first personal computer software programmes. He served as CEO for 25 years and chairman until 2014. After leaving the board in 2020, he told Forbes in early 2023 that he still consults with Microsoft teams 10% of the time. He owns a lot of property in the U.S. and invests in dozens of firms, including Republic Services and Deere & Co.

7. Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett, often referred to as the “Oracle of Omaha,” has established himself as one of the most accomplished investors in history. He is the head of the investing conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, which boasts a diverse portfolio of companies such as Geico, Duracell, and Dairy Queen. From a young age, he demonstrated a keen interest in financial matters. Being the son of a U.S. congressman, he had the opportunity to delve into the world of stocks at the tender age of 11. He even took the initiative to file his taxes at the remarkably young age of 13.

8. Larry Page

Page, along with Sergey Brin, co-founded the search engine Google in 1998. He held the position of CEO from 2001 to 2011 and again from 2015 to present. He currently holds a position as a board member of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and maintains majority ownership.

9. Sergey Brin

Sergey Brin resigned from his position as president of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, in December 2019. However, he still holds significant control as a major shareholder and continues to serve as a member of the board. He and Larry Page became partners in 1998, when they crossed paths at Stanford University during their pursuit of advanced degrees in computer science.

10. Steve Ballmer

Ballmer, who was a classmate of Bill Gates at Harvard University, became the 30th employee to join Microsoft in 1980. He served as the CEO of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014.

After leaving Microsoft, Ballmer made headlines by acquiring the Los Angeles Clippers team for $2 billion, setting a new record for the highest purchase price of an NBA team. According to recent reports, the team’s value has been estimated at $4.65 billion by Forbes.
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Serbia Indicts Ex-minister, 12 Others Over Train Station Tragedy

Published

18 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Serbian prosecutors filed an updated indictment on Tuesday against 13 people, including a former minister, over a fatal railway station roof collapse that has triggered a wave of anti-government protests.

The prosecution said all those indicted, among them former construction minister Goran Vesic, face charges of “serious crimes against public safety” over the tragedy that killed 16 people last November.

“The indictment proposes that the Higher Court in Novi Sad order custody for all the defendants,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The roof collapse at the newly renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, became a symbol of entrenched corruption and sparked almost daily protests.

Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad initially filed an indictment at the end of December, but judges returned it in April, requesting more information.

The accused were released or placed under house arrest following the decision.

The prosecutor’s office said it had complied with the judge’s request and had now completed the supplementary investigation.

The prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption in Belgrade is leading a separate, independent investigation into the tragedy.

That investigation is focused on 13 people, including Vesic and another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic, who headed the Construction Ministry before him.

In March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) launched a third, separate investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds for the station’s reconstruction.

AFP

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Kazakhstan Bans Forced Marriage, Bride Kidnapping

Published

18 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Kazakhstan has banned forced marriages and bride kidnappings through a law that came into effect Tuesday in the Central Asian country, where the practice persists despite new attention being paid to women’s rights.

Forcing someone to marry is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kazakh police said in a statement.

“These changes are aimed at preventing forced marriages and protecting vulnerable categories of citizens, especially women and adolescents,” it added.

Bride kidnappings have also been outlawed.

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“Previously, a person who voluntarily released a kidnapped person could expect to be released from criminal liability. Now this possibility has been eliminated,” the police said.

There are no reliable statistics of forced marriage cases across the country, with no separate article in the criminal code prohibiting it until now.

A Kazakh lawmaker said earlier this year that the police had received 214 such complaints over the past three years.

The custom is also present in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, where it mostly goes unpunished due to indifferent law enforcement and stigma surrounding whistleblowers.

The issue of women’s rights in Kazakhstan gained media attention in 2023 following the murder of a woman by her husband, a former minister, a case that shocked Kazakh society and prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to react.

“Some people hide behind so-called traditions and try to impose the practice of wife stealing. This blatant obscurantism cannot be justified,” Tokayev said last year.

AFP

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Russia Arrests Woman For Detonating Bomb On Railway

Published

18 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Russia’s FSB security service said on Tuesday it had arrested a woman in her fifties accused of detonating explosives in a bid to sabotage the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The suspect was allegedly working on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, the FSB said, in the latest incident of alleged covert activity during the countries’ conflict.

“In August 2025, following the instructions provided by the adversary, the suspect manufactured a homemade explosive device from publicly available components, placed it on the railway tracks and triggered it,” the Russian agency said.

“She recorded the moment of the explosion on her mobile phone camera and sent the footage as a report to the handler to receive a reward.”

The statement did not name the suspect but said she was born in 1974 and carried out the alleged attack in eastern Siberia’s Zabaikalsky region.

The FSB warned Russians that it was monitoring social networks and online messenger services such as Telegram and WhatsApp for evidence of Ukrainian services recruiting Russians to carry out sabotage.

Separately, the agency told state news agency TASS that a man had been sentenced to 18 years and six months for transporting explosives on behalf of a “pro-Ukrainian” group.

A resident of the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, had, the FSB said, established contact through the Telegram app with a banned “terrorist organisation”.

He allegedly retrieved explosives from a cache on the orders of this group before waiting for “further instructions”, according to the same source cited by TASS.

He was jailed by a military tribunal.

AFP