Text: Xiao Yuan
Recently, Forbes released a list of the top ten richest people in the world with the fastest wealth growth in 2021. This year, 1,800 of the world's 2,660 billionaires have seen phenomenal wealth growth, with $1.6 trillion added from early 2021 to December 10. Among them, Tesla CEO Elon Musk's wealth soared by $109.8 billion, ranking first. He also ascended to the throne of the world's richest man this year.
Among the elites is the elite, and the assets of these rich people themselves have been breathtaking in the past year. In just one year, their already enormous wealth has increased by tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars. Just the top ten fastest-growing richest people have their wealth grown by a total of $458 billion, accounting for more than a quarter of the total increase in the world's billionaires.
Six of the 10 richest people are Americans, and they all have a common trait, all from technology or tech-related industries. It's also related to the recent push in tech stocks that have led to a surge in their wealth. The total wealth of these 6 wealthy Americans increased by $304 billion, and their net worth increased by an average of 51%. Among them, the current net assets of Musk, ranked first, are about $265.4 billion. (Musk has triple citizenship of South Africa, Canada and the United States.)
Among the 6 richest Americans, the second-ranked is Google co-founder Larry Page, whose wealth has increased by $49.1 billion and currently has a net worth of $126.3 billion; the third is Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, whose wealth has increased by $47.5 billion and currently has a net worth of $135.7 billion. Followed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, adding $46.7 billion, $32.3 billion and $18.9 billion, respectively.
Bill Gates needless to say, almost no one does not know him, and former CEO Steve Ballmer, who also worked at Microsoft, is also a rich country, and his net worth has reached $107.5 billion. According to Bloomberg's Scott Carpenter, Los Angeles Clippers owner Ballmer is the ninth richest man to achieve a net worth of $100 billion.
Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 as one of its earliest employees and a classmate of Bill Gates' at Harvard. From 2000 to 2014, Ballmer served as CEO of Microsoft. Ballmer is also Microsoft's largest natural person shareholder, and his significant increase in wealth was mainly due to the rise in Microsoft's stock price. Recently, Microsoft's market capitalization once again exceeded $2.5 trillion, crushing Apple and ranking first in the world again. And Ballmer's stake in Microsoft has appreciated 57 percent this year.
Back in 2014, Ballmer bought the Clippers for $2 billion. In the summer of 2019, the Clippers brought in core player Cowy Leonard from the Toronto Raptors, and then paul George. This year, for the first time in their history, the Clippers reached the Western Conference Finals. According to Forbes, the Clippers are valued at $2.75 billion this year, up 38 percent in the last five years to rank 6th among all NBA teams.
It is worth mentioning that Ballmer's Clipper market value also increased by 20%, from 2.75 billion to 3.3 billion, an increase of $550 million. For Ballmer, however, what he cares most about at this stage is not wealth appreciation, but how to make his team win the NBA championship. In this regard, some netizens said, "Ballmer: If the championship can be bought and sold, what else do I have to worry about?" ”
When it comes to Elon Musk, who is ranked first, many people only see his achievements and brilliance, but do not know the story behind him. Musk summed up his entrepreneurial process, which can be said to be a life of swallowing glass while gazing into the abyss. And, most people only know that he is the president of 2 top tech companies, namely Tesla and SpaceX. People who know him well will compare him to Iron Man in the Avengers.
Musk has a high IQ from an early age, and at the age of 12, he made a video game by teaching himself programming, and it sold for $500. Although his IQ is extremely high, his emotional intelligence is almost non-existent. No kid wants to play with him, and the chats between them aren't on the same channel. In the eyes of his friends, he was a very boring person. At the same time, he was always impolite to accuse others of their mistakes.
In 1995, after graduating from college, Musk threw himself into the Internet wave. He and his brother created a company called Zip2, similar to today's Dianping and Google Maps. A few years later, Combo acquired Zip2 for $300 million. Musk then poured all his money into the new company PayPal. Three years later, Ebay bought another $1.5 billion for PayPal. As a result, Musk, who is just over 30 years old, has become a billionaire in one fell swoop. However, not everything went so smoothly.
On the evening of Musk and his wife's honeymoon in Sydney, PayPal board received a letter of collective will from senior management asking for Musk's replacement. When the plane landed, Musk's position was replaced. He suffered betrayal from his colleagues, and the media at this time called him an extremely selfish and stupid bastard, which can be said to add fuel to the fire, but he did not collapse after this blow.
In June 2002, Musk embarked on his third adventure. He founded SpaceX, a well-known space exploration technology company, and formed an all-star team in the aviation industry. However, SpaceX's three launches from 2006 to 2008 all ended in failure.
The first time was because the engine caught fire, causing the Falcon 1 to explode during takeoff; the second time was because it did not enter the intended orbit; the third time was that the first and second sections of the rocket suddenly failed during the separation process, and then ended in failure, which was fatal to musk and everyone in the company. The SpaceX team felt a sense of despair and exhaustion that had never been seen before. Musk was in pain, blocking the money in his account for a last-ditch effort.
On September 28, 2008, Musk led the entire team to start his fourth launch in anticipation. When Falcon 1 actually got into orbit, he knew he had finally succeeded! Even years later, when Musk recalled the scene in an interview, he couldn't help but cry.
Today, in addition to Tesla and SpaceX, Musk's vast business area includes many unknown but forward-looking high-tech products. For example, SolarCity, the solar power company with the largest market share in the world; a hyperloop train that can reach speeds of up to 1200 kilometers per hour; OpenAI, a non-profit organization in the field of artificial intelligence development; a neurotech company dedicated to the interaction of the human brain and computer; and a company called Boring, which specializes in the construction of underground tunnels.
Musk's wild ideas we can't imagine, maybe only the Martians can understand him, and what field will the next sky he wants to conquer? It is enough to see that the reason why the rich are rich is not only because of their assets, but also because of their creativity.