For the most part, the mega-wealthy residents of Palm Beach—a town that boasts at least 56 billionaires—got wealthier over the last year, according to an analysis of the world’s richest individuals that Forbes released on Tuesday, April 2.
Out of the wealthiest individuals on the list, 40 Palm Beach billionaires saw their net worth increase over the last 12 months, while 15 watched their estimated worth decrease. For consistency, three billionaire Palm Beach property owners saw their worth remain flat.
One of the 15 Palm Beach billionaires whose net worth dipped over the past year is real estate mogul and former President of the United States, Donald Trump. By far the town’s most famous resident, Trump reportedly lost money with a newly listed net worth of $2.3 billion, down from $2.5 billion in April 2023.
The Forbes report’s analysis showed the cumulative wealth of all Palm Beach billionaires to be $494.7 billion for 2024. To determine who made it onto the Palm Beach list, billionaires who own real estate in town, whether it’s an investment property, a vacation house, or a primary home, were considered. It should be noted that there could be more billionaires who own property in Palm Beach, but their names might be hidden behind the entities they used to purchase their real estate.
One Palm Beach resident whose name is missing from this year’s analysis is famous singer and businessman Jimmy Buffett, who passed away in September 2023 at the age of 76. Buffett’s passing occurred only five months after Forbes reported his wealth to have hit $1 billion for the first time.
On the list for 2024, Forbes identified 2,781 individuals worldwide whose wealth has struck the $1 billion benchmark. This number is up from 2,640 in 2023. Those who made the Palm Beach list are reportedly right in line with the majority of global billionaires.
An article associated with the Forbes 2024 list stated, “What a year it’s been for the planet’s billionaires, whose fortunes continue to swell as global stock markets shrug off war, political unrest, and lingering inflation.”
Regarding the Palm Beach list, David Koch of Koch Industries, who passed away in 2019, had been identified as Palm Beach’s wealthiest billionaire for many years. Now, once again, Koch’s widow, Julia Koch, and her family lead the Palm Beach list with an estimated worth of $64.3 billion. Julia’s net worth is up from $59 billion in 2023.
However, the number two spot belongs to private equity mogul Stephen Schwarzman, who snagged the rank away from hedge-fund manager and securities titan Ken Griffin. Griffin owns the largest estate in Palm Beach and held the number two spot last year.
Schwarzman’s wealth increased from $27.8 billion in 2023 to $38.8 billion, as the Forbes 2024 list reported. At the same time, Griffin’s estimated net worth increased to $36.4 billion from $35 billion one year ago.
Griffin now takes the third spot on the list of Palm Beach’s wealthiest billionaires, placing him in 42nd place globally. He is surpassed only by Koch and Schwarzman.
Rounding out the top 10 wealthiest billionaires in Palm Beach are discount broker pioneer Thomas Peterffy with $34 billion, Australian mining mogul Gina Rinehart with $30.8 billion, investments and finance executive Abigail Johnson with $29 billion, mortgage loan magnate and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert with $26.2 billion, Carolina Panthers owner and hedge-fund manager David Tepper with $20.6 billion, cosmetics executive Leonard Lauder with $15.1 billion, and financier Henry Kravis with $11.7 billion.
