It’s been another great year for billionaires
, the party continued in 2021: the 2,600-plus billionaires around the globe have gotten $1.6 trillion richer this year, according toIn all, the world’s billionaires are worth $13.6 trillion, as of last Friday’s market close—up from $12 trillion when they rang in the new year less than 12 months ago.
American billionaires have led the surge, adding a total of $945 billion to their fortunes this year as the S&P 500 has jumped by 21% and the Nasdaq has risen by 50%. A significant slice of that gain comes from a single person: Elon Musk, who was by far the world’s biggest gainer. Musk added an astonishing $110 billion to his fortune in 2020. Even more astonishing: He did it again in 2021. Musk began the year worth an estimated $156 billion; he’s now worth an estimated $266 billion, thanks to SpaceX’s