The world’s wealth is increasingly concentrated in a smaller group. When Forbes first published the billionaires’ list back in 1987, there were 140 people with a total wealth of 240 billion dollars. Now, the personal wealth of the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, is 419.4 billion dollars. Individuals with a wealth exceeding 50 billion dollars are classified as ‘super billionaires.’ As economic inequality deepens, how do these ultra-wealthy individuals shape global finance and politics?

In 1987, the first billionaires’ list published by Forbes included 140 individuals with a total wealth of 295 billion dollars. The richest person at that time was Japanese real estate tycoon Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, with a wealth of 20 billion dollars. However, there has been a significant transformation in wealth distribution today.

According to the global wealth intelligence company Altrata, Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, has now become one of the most financially powerful people in history with a wealth of 419.4 billion dollars. This figure is equal to 21 times Tsutsumi’s peak wealth.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, in recent years, the number of billionaires has increased, with individuals holding wealth exceeding 50 billion dollars being classified as ‘super billionaires.’ Currently, only 24 people worldwide have reached this level, with 16 of them considered “centi-billionaires” with at least 100 billion dollars in wealth.

According to Altrata data, these super billionaires, who accounted for 4% of all billionaire wealth in 2014, now control 16% of all billionaire wealth by 2024. Their total net worth stands at a level of 3.3 trillion dollars, equal to the nominal GDP of France. In the 19th and 20th centuries, industrialists ranked among the world’s wealthiest, but today, technology billionaires make up the majority of the super billionaires list.

In addition to Elon Musk, the founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos, Oracle’s co-founder Larry Ellison, Meta’s founder Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s co-founders Sergey Brin, and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer are also included in this list. Due to the fact that their wealth is largely tied to stock prices, these individuals can experience significant fluctuations. For example, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang observed that his wealth fluctuated by tens of billions of dollars within a year in 2023.

The rapidly increasing wealth of super billionaires is fueling debates on economic inequality. In the United States, the richest 1% possess 30% of total wealth, compared to 23% in the late 1980s. This illustrates a growing gap between the ultra-rich and the rest. Super billionaires not only possess economic power but also a significant influence in media and politics. Musk influences the media through Tesla, Bezos owns The Washington Post, while Zuckerberg reaches billions of people through Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

Altrata experts predict that if the current trend continues, we may witness the world’s first trillionaire in the next few decades. Altrata’s Analytics Chief Maya Imberg suggests, “Such a possibility was not seen in the past, but now, everything is possible.” The emergence of super billionaires raises important questions about the future of economic and social order. How will this massive wealth accumulation shape the world?