A handful of Texans figured on this year’s list of global billionaires compiled by Forbes, yet on the whole, their fortunes aren’t what they used to be.
The combined net worth of the 2,640 billionaires — most hailing from the United States, followed by China and India — amounts to $12.2 trillion, per Forbes. This represents a drop of $500 billion from $12.7 trillion in March 2022.
Some wealthy Texans saw significant decreases in their net worth, resulting in a decline in their standings on the billionaire list.
Elon Musk, the founder of Austin-based Tesla, fell from the top spot to second place on the billionaire list.
He was supplanted by French magnate Bernard Arnault.
Arnault is the chairman of Paris-based luxury goods giant LVMH, which manages fashion houses like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. He is worth around $211 billion, per Forbes.
LVMH’s acquisition of classic U.S. jeweler Tiffany & Co. for a record-breaking $15.8 billion in January 2021 gave a significant boost to Arnault’s net worth.
As for Musk, his net worth is estimated to be $180 billion, which is down by $39 billion from the previous year, per The Dallas Morning News.
Since his acquisition of Twitter last October, the social media company’s value dropped from $44 billion to around $20 billion, as The Dallas Express reported.
Apart from a dip in Tesla stocks seen after the acquisition was announced, the EV brand seems to be doing well. This is aided by its domination of the EV market with an estimated 63.5% share in 2022, as The Dallas Express reported.
Musk also owns the rocket manufacturer SpaceX and the construction services company The Boring Company, per Forbes.
Also figuring on the billionaire list and representing the Lone Star State was Alice Walton, an art curator and heir to the Walmart fortune.
Forbes estimated that Walton’s net worth was $56.7 billion as of April 2023, which is a drop of over $8 billion from last year.
As such, she slipped from no.15 last year to no.21 on the 2023 list.
Walmart has posted solid results amid the troubling economic climate, as The Dallas Express reported. Yet Walton is not involved in the business and saw fewer returns than her siblings, Rob and Jim, who rank higher than her on the list.
Michael Dell, chair and CEO of Dell Technologies, placed a few notches below Walton at no.23.
Hailing from Austin, Dell’s net worth was estimated at $50.1 billion, per Forbes.
This is about $5 billion less than last year after Dell Technologies experienced a 27% drop in its stock price.
Not all Texans had diminished fortunes this year.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who occupies no.133 on the list, had a positive year.
Jones’ net worth was $13.3 billion, which increased by $2.7 billion compared to last year, per the DMN.
The Dallas-based billionaire profited from the rising valuation of the Cowboys, which climbed 28% in 2022 to $4.47 billion.
Jones also has various commercial real estate assets and is the controlling shareholder in Comstock Resources, a Frisco-based oil and gas company, per Forbes.
