Musk’s fortune soared by a record $170 billion in 2024–putting him an all-time high dollar amount ahead of Jeff Bezos, the world’s second richest person.



The soaring valuations of Tesla, SpaceX and xAI boosted Elon Musk’s fortune to an estimated $421.2 billion as of December 31, 2024, up from $251 billion at the start of 2024. He’s the first person to ever be worth&nbsp;more than $300 billion (a milestone he briefly achieved in 2021), let alone $400 billion.



As a result, Musk ended the year a record $188 billion richer than the world’s next wealthiest person, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who was worth an estimated $233.5 billion when the ball dropped in New York City’s Times Square earlier this week. A representative for Musk has not replied to a request for comment from Forbes.



The record for the largest year-end lead between No. 1 and No. 2 richest more than doubled in 2024. Back in 2021—the previous record—Musk was worth $72 billion more than then-No. 2 Bernard Arnault.



Musk actually lost the title of world’s richest person to Arnault in January 2024, when a Delaware judge voided his 2018 deal to receive options equaling a 9% stake in Tesla—then worth about $56 billion. (Forbes&nbsp;discounted the options by 50% pending Musk’s appeal.)&nbsp;But Musk regained the crown in May, when his new artificial intelligence startup xAI raised $6 billion at a $24 billion valuation, helping boost his fortune to $209.5 billion at the time. Since then he’s never looked back.



In December, xAI raised another $6 billion at a reported $50 billion valuation, giving Musk an estimated 54% stake worth $27 billion. That same month, SpaceX was valued at $350 billion in a private share sale, up from $180 billion a year earlier, boosting the value of Musk’s estimated 42% stake to $147 billion.



Tesla shares also hit an all-time high on December 17 and ended the year up 93%, with almost all of that gain coming after Musk helped re-elect Donald Trump as president on November 5 and was named co-head of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) a week later. That boosted the value of Musk’s 12% stake in Tesla to $166 billion.



And that’s excluding Musk’s Tesla options that were voided by the Delaware judge in January 2024. Though Tesla shareholders voted to reapprove the options in June, in early December the Delaware judge reaffirmed her decision to void the award. For now,&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;is continuing to discount the options by 50% pending Musk’s appeal, giving them a discounted valuation of nearly $57.8 billion.



Musk, who became the first person ever worth $400 billion or more&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/phoebeliu/2024/12/11/elon-musk-now-worth-more-than-400-billion-worlds-richest-person/">in December</a>, saw his fortune soar by a record $170 billion during 2024–or by roughly one Bernard Arnault, who ended the year as the world’s fifth richest person, worth an estimated $168.4 billion.



Tesla shares have fallen about 6% as of 3 pm E.T. on Thursday, January 2 following news from the company <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/02/tesla-q4-vehicle-deliveries-fall-short-of-estimates-annual-deliveries-fell-1-in-2024/">earlier in the day</a> that vehicle deliveries in 2024 fell compared to 2023, and that fourth-quarter deliveries missed analysts’ expectations. That wiped out nearly $15 billion from Musk’s fortune. But he’s still the number one richest, worth an estimated nearly $406 billion. And the gap between Musk and No. 2 Bezos is still yawning at nearly $172 billion.

Tech Illustration Images

The Unprecedented Gap Between Elon Musk And The World’s Next Richest

Arturo Lomeli is transforming his super premium tequila brand into Mexico’s first luxury house—including hotels and boutiques—while maintaining the brand’s independence.



<abbr>I</abbr>nside his modern&nbsp;home in the hills of Guadalajara, Mexico, Arturo Lomeli is eating one of his favorite foods—taquitos, piled high with crema, salsa and guacamole—as tequila is poured into crystal flutes around the table. The blue-and-white hand-painted ceramic bottles that Lomeli’s brand, Clase Azul, has become famous for dot the room.



Next up are mezcals in decanters painted a matte black, red or teal. And then there’s the special edition añejo tequilas, featuring artisans from around Mexico. To the right of the overflowing lunch table, Lomeli starts pulling out more bottles from his bar—where a large surrealist-style portrait of Clase Azul’s founder and CEO with a bird on his shoulder watches over his personal collection.



“My spiritual soul was chosen to protect it. I&#8217;m the guardian. A Mexican messenger,” says Lomeli, 52, as sips of the $1,500 Dia De Los Muertos collection 2024 release—in a purple bottle featuring a metal skeleton playing an accordion—make the rounds for everyone but Lomeli. He gave up drinking a few years ago, he says, partly because he wants to live past 100.



That doesn’t stop him from running his super-premium tequila brand that’s exported to 92 countries. Over the past three decades, Lomeli has perfected a playbook that relies on authenticity, from the distillation process to keeping the business Mexican-owned. He takes a longterm view and has invested vertically even where it might seem absurd.



For example, one of the most recent additions to his sprawling bottling plant in the state of Jalisco—where a team of 50 artisans each glaze 100 signature ceramic decanters per day five-days a week—is a box-making facility pumping out custom packaging as fast at 18,000 sheets per hour. Clase Azul even manufactures the metal caps for its decanters, at a rate of 476 caps per hour. This strategy of going deep has created one of the hottest tequila brands ever sold.



“They&#8217;ve carved out a niche. Arturo’s got this vision that is very different than all the other tequilas,” says Wayne Chaplin, CEO of $26 billion (annual sales) Southern Glazer, which has distributed Clase Azul for two decades. “Sometimes people are very anxious to sell more, quicker. He’s not willing to compromise the luxury aspirations for his brand to get additional sales.”



Analysts in the food industry say that if Clase Azul were to ever sell, the deal would be in the billions. Which says as much about the sky-high multiples that spirits trade at these days as it does about the strength of Lomeli’s business. Clase Azul says it keeps its financials private. From 200,000 accounts&nbsp;globally, Clase Azul has estimated annual revenue of $150 million—surpassing the sales Casamigos had when Diageo purchased it in 2017 for $1 billion, or a deal value of 10 times revenue.



Hand-made Tale: Clase Azul&#8217;s signature ceramic decanters are produced in Jalisco, Mexico by a team of 36 artisans who create around 200 bottles a day, five days a week.Clase Azul



Forbes&nbsp;estimates Clase Azul could be worth more than $1.5 billion. That’s using a multiple of 10 times sales, which is on the lower end of today’s market, particularly for a tequila brand. Beyond the Casamigos sale, Bacardi acquired Patron in 2018 at 8 times sales for a total of $5.1 billion. In 2022, actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Teremana tequila sold a minority stake to Jägermeister in a deal industry insiders peg as high as $4 billion, or as much as 25 times estimated sales. Other spirits acquisitions are just as high—in 2020, actor Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation gin, for example, sold for $610 million, or an estimated 24 times revenue.



Those high multiples match the profitability. Clase Azul’s net income margins are estimated above 30%. Gross margins approach 70%. That&nbsp;tops publicly traded spirits conglomerates like $9 billion (sales) Constellation Brands (owner of Svedka and tequilas Casa Noble and Mi Casa) or $20 billion (sales) Diageo (Don Julio tequila, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff).



But don’t expect an acquisition or public offering any time soon—Lomeli says Clase Azul will remain independent, as well as 100% Mexican-owned. Lomeli is the brand’s majority shareholder. A minority stake is owned by his brother-in-law from his first marriage, Juan Sanchez, who advised Lomeli as a banker based in San Francisco before starting full-time in 2003.



Together, the two men built Clase Azul through a combination of small business loans and grit, and Lomeli says they have no interest in changing that now: “We&#8217;re not in a rush.”



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<abbr>A</abbr>fter growing up&nbsp;in Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city, Lomeli graduated from the university there with a degree in political science&nbsp;and decided to open his own bar. But the fun had faded by his 24th birthday, and he tried making and selling alcohol instead. He first launched a pomegranate liquor called La Pinta. Then came a tequila—a low-quality volume play with generic branding. Both ventures failed.



“To be unattached is one of the keys,” Lomeli says of his business philosophy. “If you&#8217;re attached to something, and if that disappears out of your control, you&#8217;re going to suffer.”



Lomeli adds, “I am attached to the things that I can control, which is my emotions, my reactions, my way of thinking, my discipline, my determination.”



He’s learned that stoicism the hard way. (Though Lomeli still serves La Pinta at his home.) After going back to school in 1999, he realized a luxury brand with Mexican-made ceramics could set his tequila business apart.



The first bottles of Clase Azul reposado launched in 2000 with 58 cases. Early on, an importer in San Diego nearly tricked Lomeli, then unable to read English, to give up all of the U.S. rights. But Lomeli had asked Sanchez to review the contract and narrowly avoided getting ripped off.



To secure debt in the early years, Sanchez counseled to focus on profitability. That meant it took longer to build the consumer brand, but Lomeli could retain his equity without giving up shares to outside investors.



“When you&#8217;re independent and private, although the journey is harder, you&#8217;re more in control,” says Sanchez. “A lot of people think it&#8217;s an overnight success story, but it&#8217;s truly been nearly 28 years of a lot of hard work and pain and suffering.”



Lomeli started seeing results after bringing on Sanchez full-time to focus on America. After waiting 18 months for an importer’s license, Lomeli and Sanchez found a few popular establishments around San Francisco to try bottles. By the time Southern Glazer called, Clase Azul was sold at 100 of the area’s top restaurants and bars. Southern took over distribution in 2005. Sales tripled within six months, and America became so important that Lomeli moved to&nbsp;San Diego for four years.



Through the growing pains, a group of celebrity investors offered to inject capital into the business. Lomeli and Sanchez agreed and prepared to double production. But the deal fell through, and they got caught overextended with too much inventory and not enough cash. Lomeli moved back to Guadalajara to steer the business back to profitability.



Brush With Greatness: Even as Clase Azul has grown to 140,000 cases annually, a Mexican artisan paints every bottle.Zenith Adventure Media



As brand recognition grew from resorts in Los Cabos, Mexico, expansion mode hit again by 2013. It caused Lomeli, an avid golfer who today owns a local soccer team in Baja, to relocate once again—this time to New York City, an underperforming market event though it was one of Southern’s biggest.



After more than 1,000 tastings around New York—for which he lugged bottles around the city—cases of Clase Azul started selling out. Emboldened, in 2014 Lomeli approached Southern to end his distribution agreement in New York. After some negotiating, Southern agreed, and Lomeli built up his own local salesforce.



“We control for longevity,” adds Lomeli. “If you don&#8217;t face the fear, you&#8217;re not going to evolve yourself.”



By 2019, Lomeli’s strategy paid off—revenue surpassed $55 million. That year, he and Sanchez got an offer to buy the company for $1 billion. They said no.



“It’s not authentic,” Lomeli recalls telling one of the bankers at the time.



More investors have been turned down since then. They also considered turning parent company Casa Tradicion into a conglomerate with vodka and other spirits, but ultimately decided to only sell what’s “rooted in our culture.”



As Clase Azul has grown, Lomeli has invested in infrastructure on a big scale. Its bottling factory opened in Jalisco in 2022 with the capacity to make 150,000 bottles per month. All the while, Clase Azul maintained quality while doubling down on exclusivity. Some editions have produced just 10 bottles.



Tequila has been on a rollercoaster with more ups than downs. In 2022 tequila was America’s fastest-growing major spirits category, with double-digit growth or more among super premium brands. But there’s been a recent slowdown. Projections were off for 2023—so much that Clase Azul expected the market to grow 44% but it only grew 4%. In the aftermath, Lomeli shut down a tequila factory and a ceramics-making facility.



“Growing at triple digits put us in a machine of growth that was very stressful,” says Lomeli, who often works at home from his hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber and is building a dream spa there to extend what he believes could be his last reincarnation. “Most successful people are not the ones who have more money. They are the ones who have enough. So the question is, when is enough?”



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<abbr>At</abbr>an unlisted-on-Google-Maps&nbsp;space in downtown Brooklyn called The Loft, Clase Azul has been building a community through collectors-only tasting events and concierge services for its top customers that has even included a marriage proposal. On a recent December night, The Loft was packed with about 30 collectors who had all pre-ordered a trio of special edition bottles of Clase Azul’s Master Artisan collection for $22,500, without tasting a single drop.



As the husband-and-wife duo Fernando Jimón and María Elena López who specialize in the dying Mexican art of&nbsp;barro bandera&nbsp;(or “flag-colored clay”) unveiled the designs and their inspiration, the collectors sipped the tequila for the first time. A green bottle featuring the Mexican folkore of nahuales (people who can shape-shift into animals) in the form of cats. It comes with tequila aged eight years in American whiskey casks and finished in barrels from Tuscany. The tequila inside a red bottle with a moon ended up in wine barrels from Bordeaux. A white decanter with an eagle inspired by Mexico’s flag had tequila finished in fortified wine barrels from Bombarral, Portugal.



“It’s the Porsche of tequila,” says serial entrepreneur Ronak Patel, who spent about $26,700&nbsp;on all three of the night’s releases, as well as two other&nbsp;bottles from Clase Azul’s breast cancer awareness collection. “It’s only going to appreciate in value. And they’ve created a community of appreciation for the art that they do.”



Raising The Bar: Chic restaurants like La Terraza at Clase Azul&#8217;s property in Los Cabos, Mexico, are part of Lomeli&#8217;s hospitality vision for the brand.Clase Azul



That’s the essence of the latest evolution of Lomeli’s strategy. In addition to The Loft in Brooklyn, there’s Clase Azul properties in Tokyo, Japan, opened this year, as well as in Los Cabos, Mexico. Set on the Pacific Coast, Clase Azul opened La Terraza in 2022 featuring a high-end restaurant, bar and boutique. These locations often feature limited-edition tequilas only sold there. Next up is a new distillery built for top customers to come visit with immersive experiences. Called La Hacienda, the hospitality space is set to open in Jalisco next year, after being in the works for eight years.



“You have much more control,” Lomeli says, “and you are not in the hands of somebody who can destroy you.”



It’s community-building 2.0 – for some of the richest people around the world. This core is the future of Clase Azul. Lomeli wants Clase Azul to become the first Mexican luxury house. His big vision extends beyond tequila to ceramics and more. A cerveza-style beer or a Mexican-grown wine could easily join the lineup, and a line of luxury hotels across Mexico, like Nobu’s extension, is another goal.



“That&#8217;s the biggest dream. It goes perfectly with our purpose to exist—to captivate the world of the magic of Mexican culture,” says Lomeli. “We have that in our veins, in our DNA.”



And he can afford to build his company over time. “The luxury industry requires another thing,” Lomeli says. “The other pillar is patience.”

20th Anniversary Celebration Of Clase Azul Tequila

How Clase Azul Built A Billion-Dollar Tequila Business Beyond The Top Shelf

Elon Musk was in court in Delaware last week defending his role in Tesla’s acquisition of failing solar panel installer SolarCity in 2016. That questionable decision – SolarCity was founded by his cousins; Musk was its biggest shareholder and served on the board of both companies – triggered a shareholder lawsuit. Of course, not all of Musk’s misguided notions land him in Delaware Chancery Court, but many don’t pan out precisely as planned. “If I wasn’t optimistic I don’t think I would have started an electric car company or a rocket company,” <a href="https://twitter.com/WillOremus/status/1415012678020513794?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">he told the court</a>.In the case of the $2.6 billion SolarCity deal, the solar roof revolution he predicted in 2016 hasn’t materialized. But neither has an affordably priced Tesla, an all-electric semi, a robotaxi network or next-gen low-cost, high-capacity batteries. Ahead of a ruling in the SolarCity case, here’s a roundup of some of Musk’s bigger swings – and misses – from the last five years.  



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-35-000-model-3">$35,000 Model 3</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1008732814-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51852" width="379" height="252" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1008732814-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1008732814-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1008732814-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1008732814-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1008732814-2048x1366.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 379px) 100vw, 379px" /><figcaption>The general assembly of the Tesla Model 3 at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California, on Thursday, July 26, 2018. (Photo by Mason Trinca for The Washington Post via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-35-00-price-point-was-touted-for-years-as-the-model-3-s-key-appeal-no-longer-just-a-auto-for-the-rich-telsa-would-finally-make-a-mass-market-car-but-after-model-3-went-into-production-it-was-only-available-at-that-price-intermittently-before-being-scrubbed-currently-the-cheapest-version-starts-at-40-000-and-after-taxes-registration-and-add-ons-usually-sells-for-closer-to-50-000-meanwhile-starting-prices-for-tesla-s-bigger-model-s-and-x-have-risen-to-85-000-and-95-000-respectively-and-they-really-cost-more-than-100-000-with-options-taxes-and-delivery-charges">The $35,00 price point was touted for years as the Model 3’s key appeal. No longer just a auto for the rich, Telsa would finally make a mass-market car. But after Model 3 went into production it was only available at that price intermittently before being scrubbed. Currently the cheapest version starts at $40,000 and after taxes, registration and add-ons usually sells for closer to $50,000. Meanwhile, starting prices for Tesla’s bigger Model S and X have risen to $85,000 and $95,000, respectively, and they really cost more than $100,000 with options, taxes and delivery charges.</h4>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F60e8c1aec3268da90bbd4e49%2F0x0.jpg%3FcropX1%3D820%26cropX2%3D3181%26cropY1%3D0%26cropY2%3D2362" alt="Tesla-Semi_IR_8219-14-Courtesy Tesla" width="-471" height="-471"/><figcaption>TESLA</figcaption></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"> Tesla Semi</h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Musk’s ambitions go beyond passenger vehicles and in November 2017 he unveiled his futuristic electric truck, promising it would go 500 miles per charge and be available around the end of 2019. As of July 2021, Tesla hasn’t announced a firm launch date or production site for the Semi and in June Jerome Guillen, the long-time head of the truck program, unexpectedly resigned.</h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tesla Roadster</h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Unveiled in November 2017 along with the Semi, Musk said the Roadster would arrive in 2020, be the fastest production car ever made and go as far as 620 miles per charge. The anticipated tech wonder is expected to cost about $200,000 but there’s no firm launch date. </h4>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tesla Giga Berlin</h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Musk wanted Tesla’s first European battery CK plant to open in July 2021. While much of the physical construction is complete, the plant lacks regulatory approval to begin operations, has stoked opposition from local environmentalists and faces fines related to water and sewerage issues. The current hope is that the plant will be open by early 2022.</h4>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1270253742-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51854" width="697" height="465" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1270253742-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1270253742-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1270253742-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1270253742-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1270253742-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 697px) 100vw, 697px" /><figcaption>2: A sign marks Tesla Strasse (Tesla Street) at the construction site of the new Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin on September 02, 2020 near Gruenheide, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tesla Full Self Driving&nbsp;</h2>



In October 2016 Musk announced that all Teslas were being built with the necessary computing power, sensors and cameras to allow them to eventually operate autonomously. At that time, he estimated that Full Self Driving capability would arrive in two to three years. The $10,000 feature, an enhancement of the company’s Autopilot system, was released in beta form in July, but after a series of horrific, fatal accidents Tesla now warns drivers that it “<a href="https://twitter.com/tesla_raj/status/1413764413165772803" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">may do the wrong thing at the worst time</a>” and that they need to use it with “additional caution”–suggesting that it isn’t ready for primetime.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tesla Robotaxi Network</h3>



Musk said at Tesla’s Autonomy Day in October 2019 that by the end of 2020 “for sure, we will have over a million robotaxis on the road. … The fleet wakes up with an over-the-air update. That&#8217;s all it takes.” As a result of that capability, Tesla owners would be able to earn money from their vehicles by making them available for an autonomous, on-demand ride service the company would oversee. That hasn’t happened and there’s no indication that will be possible–or legal– in the near term.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tesla Next-Generation Battery Cells</h3>



Musk touted a larger, beer-can size 4680 lithium battery cell in September 2020 that he claimed would be 56% cheaper and have five times the energy of the company’s current cells. He said pilot production of small batches at a lab in Silicon Valley was underway and that the company might be able to scale up to high-volume production within a year or two. Timing for production is unclear, but delays in manufacturing the cell appear to be part of the problem with launching Tesla’s Semi and Roadster. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tesla Solar Production And Jobs&nbsp;</h3>



New York spent $950 million to build and equip a solar panel factory in Buffalo that SolarCity had big plans for. In exchange for the state’s generosity, the company was to create at least 1,460 jobs there. The future looked promising after Tesla purchased SolarCity in late 2016 and in December of that year Tesla said it “entered into a long-term agreement with Panasonic to manufacture photovoltaic cells at our Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, New York, with negotiated pricing provisions and the intent to manufacture 1 gigawatt of solar panels annually.” But in the years since, output of panels at the plant has been unclear. In 2020 Tesla reported delivering just 205 megawatts of solar panels, a quarter of what SolarCity installed in 2016. Tesla has also had difficulty maintaining the required headcount at the factory. Panasonic abandoned the facility last year, further reducing employment at the facility. Tesla has been given numerous extensions by the state. As of Memorial Day, it had 1,058 employees at the plant, and has until the end of 2021 to meet the 1,460-worker target or pay a $41 million penalty.



By Alan Ohnsman, Forbes Staff

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and chairman of Tesla Motors at Tesla’s headquarters in San Carlos Tuesday Oct. 24, 3008.  Silicon Valley icon Musk became a billionaire founding PayPal, but he’s out to do something even more important – help humanity reach beyon

Elon Musk’s Biggest Tesla Blunders Of The Last Five Years

MacKenzie Scott, the philanthropist and ex-spouse of Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, announced a new round of donations Tuesday, totaling some $2.7 billion to 286 organizations around the U.S. She detailed her thought process and the list of recipients in a&nbsp;<a href="https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/seeding-by-ceding-ea6de642bf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Medium blog post</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Sitting down to write this post, I felt stuck,” Scott writes. “I want to de-emphasize privileged voices and cede focus to others, yet I know some media stories will focus on wealth.” (Duly noted by us here at&nbsp;Forbes.) By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/mackenzie-scott/?sh=b4d7725243d0">our estimate</a>, Scott’s fortune—after distributing the latest gifts—stands at $57 billion as of 10:30 am ET, which makes her the 22nd richest person in the world.&nbsp;



Scott says she wished she could have titled her post “286 Teams Empowering Voices the World Needs to Hear,” because she and her team are “attempting to give away a fortune that was enabled by systems in need of change.” With that, Scott jumps into the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/opinion/warren-buffett-billionaire-taxes.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">billionaire debate</a>&nbsp;that’s long simmered amid recent explosive reporting by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ProPublica</a>&nbsp;revealing that the world’s richest—including her ex-husband—pay very little in taxes relative to their wealth.



“We are governed by a humbling belief that it would be better if disproportionate wealth were not concentrated in a small number of hands, and that the solutions are best designed and implemented by others,” Scott writes. She says she focused her latest donations on higher education, groups bridging divides through interfaith support, arts and culture, anti-poverty organizations led by people of color and grassroots groups supporting local communities.



Scott didn&#8217;t disclose the specific dollar amount of each grant she made. But she did say that in total, she dispersed $2.739 billion. If the grants are equal in size, that means each of the 268 organizations received about $10 million. One recipient, the Children’s Defense Fund,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.childrensdefense.org/2021/childrens-defense-fund-receives-20-million-from-mackenzie-scott-and-dan-jewett/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">says</a>&nbsp;they received $20 million, “the largest single contribution” in its history. Global health organization&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2018/03/12/backed-by-a-band-of-philanthropists-nonprofit-makes-dramatic-progress-in-reducing-childhood-deaths/?sh=36a9069a237e">Muso</a>&nbsp;received $15 million, likewise its largest donation to date, according to a press release. The BOMA Project, which aims to end poverty in rural Africa, received&nbsp;<a href="https://bomaproject.org/2021/06/15/philanthropist-mackenzie-scott-donates-10m-to-the-boma-project/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$10 million</a>.



Fascinating, though, are Scott’s donations to groups that enable philanthropic giving or aid. Like Kiva, which makes microloans. Or Give Directly, which gives cash to the very poor in African countries. Another recipient, the National Council of Nonprofits, told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;their unrestricted grant will help their work supporting tens of thousands of nonprofits across the country. “Grateful for the tremendous trust that MacKenzie and Dan [Jewett, her husband] have in our work does not even begin to describe how we are feeling today,” CEO and president Tim Delaney says.



In keeping with Scott’s stated belief of ceding control of money for the best results in disseminating wealth, she gave to the Decolonizing Wealth Project, which redistributes wealth to Black, Indigenous and other philanthropic initiatives led by people of color. A gift was also made to Homeboy Industries, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that rehabilitates former gang members and helps them become contributing members of society.



Among Scott’s education recipients is DonorsChoose, a nonprofit that lets teachers crowdfund for their classrooms. Founder Charles Best told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;that Scott’s gift was “overwhelming,” and said her Tuesday blog post “will surely be cited as one of the most powerful philanthropic manifestos ever written.” Scott also donated to numerous colleges and universities.



Another recipient, Faith in Action, told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;they look forward to using their multi-million donation “toward continued investments in Black and Brown communities” as part of their mission to help people of religious faith work towards more just and equitable societies. “This gift is transformative for Faith in Action,” executive director, the Reverend Alvin Herring, says. “As we center the leadership of everyday folks who aren’t looking for the limelight, we are grateful to Ms. Scott for investing in organizations led by people directly impacted by the issues we care so deeply about.”



Arts organizations receiving funds include the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the L.A. Arts Endowment Fund, among others.



Tuesday marks Scott’s third major round of donations. By&nbsp;Forbes’ estimate, she gave away&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/denizcam/2021/04/06/how-mackenzie-scott-gave-away-nearly-6-billion-last-year-and-ended-up-richer/?sh=4a551b4068cc">nearly $6 billion</a>&nbsp;in 2020 to 500 organizations. Scott is also a&nbsp;<a href="https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=393" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">signee</a>&nbsp;of the Giving Pledge, promising to give away half of her fortune to charitable causes during her lifetime, or after her death.

Axel Springer award ceremony

MacKenzie Scott Just Gave Away Another $2.7 Billion

Consider the following: a billion-dollar budget; 6,102 hectares of prime real estate in the capital of Africa’s largest market; an affiliation with the World Trade Center’s Association and a leading conglomerate with a history of success across multiple sectors of the Nigerian economy. By combining these facts, one thing that can be inferred is a property development project of seismic proportions: The World Trade Center Abuja.
Born out of a vision to transform Nigeria’s urban landscape with elevated building designs, the real estate arm of the Churchgate Group, a conglomerate that operates in the industrial, trading and building sectors in Nigeria, has obtained the rights to build and operate a World Trade Center complex in the Nigerian capital. Located on Constitution Avenue, the major thoroughfare in the city’s CBD, the multi-purpose complex will consist of seven towers containing office buildings, shopping malls and 37 floors of luxury residential apartments.
Described by the group as the premier address for retail, office and residential spaces, the luxury residences, known as The World Trade Center Residences, will be housed in what the promoters have termed “the most iconic building in Nigeria”. The fully serviced apartments will have concierge services, underground parking, tennis and squash courts, fitness centers and outdoor swimming pools. In addition to the apartments, penthouses with views of the metropolis will also be for sale.
The group has appointed Fine &amp; Country, the luxury real estate marketing company, to market the 132 bespoke residences. Fine &amp; Country won the Bloomberg and Google International Property Award for Best International Real Estate Marketing Agency last year.
That a luxury project of such grand scale is being undertaken in Nigeria reveals a confidence in economic growth and the increased flow of private equity in and across the African continent. According to a recently published wealth report by Knight Frank and Citibank’s private banking division, the highest increases in the prices of luxury real estate occurred in Kenya—both in Nairobi and on the coastal fringes. With increases of 25% and 20%, these locations brushed aside competition from destinations including Miami, the emerging markets of Bali and Jakarta in Indonesia, and traditional heavyweight London, to rank first and second on the Prime International Residential Index in which Cape Town regularly features.
Also worthy of a mention is the fact that the report identifies Nigerians to be among the top five nationalities to watch with respect to the demand for luxury real estate. The market for luxury property developments in Nigeria seems to be maturing, which implies positive benefits in terms of the flow of capital and the multiplier effect on the economy.
Although much still needs to be done to sustain this growth, one thing is certain—a new dawn is spreading across the continent, and this is not lost on the local and global elite.

Tag: billion-dollar

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