The Tesla boss is currently the richest man on the planet with a boastful £173billion net worth

THE world’s first trillionaire will be crowned by 2034 as the five richest men continue to grow their wealth by £11million an hour.

The eye-watering figure is a result of their combined wealth more than doubling from $405billion (£317billion) to $869billion (£681billion) since the turn of the decade.

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Tesla boss Elon Musk leads the way to becoming the world’s first trillionaireCredit: Reuters

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LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chief Bernard Arnault is the second richest man on the planetCredit: Getty

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The five richest men in the world competing to become the first ever trillionaire
Tesla boss Elon Musk currently leads the way as the richest man on the planet with his boastful $222bn (£173bn) net worth, according to a study by Oxfam.

His next closest challenger to reaching the $1trillion (£783bn) benchmark is LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chief executive Bernard Arnault.

The French businessman currently has a net worth totalling $179.3bn (£140.5bn).

Hot on his heels, however, is Amazon’s executive chairman Jeff Bezos with his $177bn (£138bn) net worth.

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Larry Ellison, the co-founder of software company Oracle, is fourth on the list with a net worth of $138.5bn (£108.5bn).

And Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg props up the top five list with a net worth of $134.8 bn (£105.6bn).

RECORD PROFITS

The quintet have all seen their wealth grow a remarkable three times faster than global inflation in the last three years.

As a result, billionaires are $3.3tn (£2.5tn) richer than in 2020.

“If current trends continue, the world will have its first trillionaire within a decade,” Oxfam revealed.

The charity also states that large firms are set to smash their annual profit records in 2023.

With 148 of the world’s biggest corporations raking in $1.8tn (£1.4tn) in total net profits between them, it saw a 52 percent jump on average net profits in 2018-2021.

Windfall profits also surged to nearly $700bn (£548bn), with $82 paid out to rich shareholders of 96 major corporations for every $100 of profit made between July 2022 and June 2023.

However, while the world will have its first trillionaire in just a decade, poverty will also persist for at least two centuries.

Oxfam’s study revealed how almost five billion people have been made poorer due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, war and inflation.

WEALTH TAXES

Oxfam said: “If current trends continue, the world will have its first trillionaire within a decade but poverty won’t be eradicated for another 229 years.”

But with the cost of living crisis spiralling out of control, more than 250 millionaires and billionaires have signed an open letter urging global leaders to implement wealth taxes to address inequality.

“Elected leaders must tax us, the super rich,” the letter read.

“This will not fundamentally alter our standard of living, nor deprive our children, nor harm our nations’ economic growth.

“But it will turn extreme and unproductive private wealth into an investment for our common democratic future.”

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Jeff Bezos has a net worth of £138billionCredit: AP

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Larry Ellison, the co-founder of software company Oracle, is the fourth richest man in the worldCredit: AP

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Hot on his heels, however, is Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg who boasts a net worth of £105.6billionCredit: Getty

World’s richest people

Elon Musk is the world’s richest man, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaires list. Here’s who makes the top 10*:

Elon Musk – $224.2bn

Bernard Arnault and family – $183.8bn

Jeff Bezos – $179.6bn

Larry Ellison – $143.7bn

Mark Zuckerberg – $138.4bn

Warren Buffett – $124.9bn

Larry Page – $124.8bn

Bill Gates – $122.1bn

Sergey Brin – $119.5bn

Steve Ballmer – $118.5bn

* Figures as of January 24, 2024