The 500 richest people in the world had a record-breaking 2025, adding USD 2.2 tn to their wealth piles and bringing their total net worth to a staggering USD 11.9 tn, according to Bloomberg ’s B’naires Index.

A quarter of the USD 2.2 tn came from just eight people, with major gainers including:

  • Tesla CEO Elon Musk — with a yearly gain of USD 190.3 bn and a net worth of USD 622.7 bn;
  • Alphabet Co-founder Larry Page — with a net worth of USD 257.8 bn;
  • Amazon.com Founder Jeff Bezos — with a net worth of USD 251.4 bn;
  • Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison— with a yearly gain of USD 57.7 bn and with a net worth of USD 249.8 bn.

By region: The wealth creation was heavily concentrated in the US and Canada, accounting for nearly half of the total at USD 1.1 tn. Asia and Oceania came in second with gains of USD 550.7 bn. Europe added USD 386.5 bn, while Latin America saw USD 159.5 bn. The Middle East and Russia added USD 39.3 bn, and Africa contributed USD 21.9 bn.

What drove the gains? Big Tech companies and US mega-cap stocks were the main engines of the massive wealth accumulation, dominating the stock market through sustained investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Other sectors providing a boost included global equities and rare earth and precious metals, the latter of which recorded its best year. Copper and rare earth metals also surged in value. Their emergence as commodities yielding significant geopolitical power added USD bns to industry heavyweights like Australia’s Gina Rinehart, whose net worth rose USD 12.6 bn to USD 37.7 bn.

The crypto market experienced more volatility, delivering massive returns as BTC’s value skyrocketed on the back of Donald Trump’s re-election at the end of 2024, before a steep slide in October saw the market wipe out gains and significantly reduce the added wealth of crypto-focused b’naires like Michael Saylor.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are mixed this morning, after China’s inflation data for December showed consumer prices rising at their fastest pace in three years, pushing China’s CSI 300 down 0.25%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, in the meantime, was up 0.1%, along with Japan’s Nikkei. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.4%.

ADX

10,040

-0.1% (YTD: +0.5%)

DFM

6,253

+0.1% (YTD: +3.4%)

Nasdaq Dubai UAE20

4,972

-0.2% (YTD: +1.7%)

USD : AED CBUAE

Buy 3.67

Sell 3.67

EIBOR

3.5% o/n

3.6% 1 yr

TASI

10,473

+0.2% (YTD: -0.2%)

EGX30

4,601

+0.5% (YTD: +0.1%)

S&P 500

6,921

+0.0% (YTD: +1.1%)

FTSE 100

10,045

-0.0% (YTD: +1.1%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,904

-0.3% (YTD: +2%)

Brent crude

USD 62.69

+4.6%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 3.41

-3.4%

Gold

USD 4,460.7

-0.0%

BTC

USD 91,220

+0.4% (YTD +2.8%)

Chimera JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF

AED 3.8

+0.0% (YTD: +1.3%)

S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk

151.77

+0.1% (YTD: -0.1%)

VIX (Volatility Index)

15.45

+0.5% (YTD: +4.2%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM rose 0.1% yesterday on turnover of AED 734.1 mn. The index is up 3.4% YTD.

In the green: National General Ins. Company (+8.1%), Air Arabia (+4.6%), and Aramex (+2.8%).

In the red: Chimera S&P UAE Shariah ETF- Share class B – Income (-3.5%), Al Firdous Holdings (-3.2%) and Agility The Public Warehousing Company (-2.9%).

Over on the ADX, the index fell 0.1% on turnover of AED 1.1 bn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was down 0.2%.

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