How Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg can beat Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the richest person this year

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, the parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, may become the world's richest person for the first time this year. Reportedly, his wealth soared by $51 billion – bringing his total wealth to an estimated $179 billion.

As per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he secured the fourth spot after Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk ( $248 billion), Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ($202 billion) and luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault ($180 billion). Zuckerberg's rise in 2024 has seen him overtake LVMH CEO last week, according to a report by Business Insider.

How Zuckerberg can overtake Musk, Bezos

While Zuckerberg is a bit far from catching Musk and Bezos, The volatile nature of tech fortunes, coupled with Zuckerberg's outperformance this year compared to Musk and Bezos, may provide a possibility of him clinching the top spot in the near future.

For example, Musk’s net worth was $164 billion as recently as April, while Bezos was worth a little less in early January than Zuckerberg is now, the report added. Out of the three, the Meta CEO outpaced Musk and Bezos in raking up with Musk and Bezos accumulating $19 billion and $25 billion, respectively, as compared to Zuckerberg’s $51 billion.

Factors such as a poor earnings report for Tesla or Amazon, legal setbacks, or even substantial philanthropic donations by Musk or Bezos could pave the way for Zuckerberg's ascent. Moreover, at 40, Zuckerberg has a considerable advantage in terms of time compared to Musk, 53, and Bezos, 60, to further grow his wealth.

Moreover, Zuckerberg – who is 40 – probably has more time than Musk (53) and Bezos (60) to grow his fortune. His current net worth already surpasses that of iconic figures like Bill Gates, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Warren Buffett who has donated more than half his Berkshire Hathaway stock.