Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the 2024 presidential race is already paying dividends in the form of a stronger American dollar and net worth surges among the world’s leading entrepreneurs.
According to Bloomberg, the S&P 500—an index that tracks the performance of the 500 largest companies listed on the U.S. stock exchange—jumped 2.5 percent on Wednesday, marking the metric’s best post-election performance ever. As of Friday, November 8, the S&P 500 had continued to rise steadily to reach a 52-week high. Market Watch’s U.S. Dollar Index also reported a jump in value following Trump’s win. Despite a slight downturn for the American dollar through Thursday and Friday morning, a notable election-week net gain underscored by a Friday afternoon uptick has held strong.
“US financial assets, especially equities and the US dollar, should experience a boost,” Lombard Odier’s Samy Chaar, chief economist and CIO for Switzerland, and Luca Bindelli, head of investment strategy, wrote in a note to the wealth manager’s clients, per Bloomberg.
The world’s 10 wealthiest businessmen also saw dramatic gains in the election’s wake. The net worth of top-earning entrepreneurs led by Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, surged collectively by $63.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk, who donated tens of millions in support of Trump’s presidential bid, saw his net worth shoot up by $26.5 billion. The South Africa-born tech magnate—who controls Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and X (formerly Twitter), among other assets— is poised to influence White House policy, as Trump has said he plans to give Musk an official role.
Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos and revered investor Warren Buffett both made $7 billion, while Oracle Corp.’s Larry Ellison earned nearly $10 billion. Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, former Micrsoft CEO Steven Ballmer, and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were among the other big winners. Wednesday marked the biggest daily increase since Bloomberg’s wealth index began in 2012.
