Bloomberg has shared a 25-name list of the wealthiest families in 2024, showcasing familiar names like the Walton family and new entries such as Ofer and Thailand’s Chearavanont. The top family is reportedly valued at $406.5 billion, while the 25th name on the list has a wealth of $37.4 billion.
According to Bloomberg’s list, The Walton family is at the forefront of the wealth rankings, with a staggering $172.7 billion boost in 2024, thanks to a surge in Walmart stock. The Waltons have a combined net worth of over $400 billion.
Owning 46% of the retail giant, the family’s heirs continue to benefit from Sam Walton’s legacy. The family has diversified its portfolio into sectors like sports ownership, specifically the American Football franchise Denver Broncos.
The 25 richest families in the world collectively gained $406.5 billion in wealth this year. Here’s who made the list https://t.co/KhDFyP8NUb
— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) December 12, 2024
Second and third in the ranking were the generation dynasty Al Nahyan and the eighth-generation family Al Thani, valued at $323.9bn and $172.9bn, respectively.
Other notable names on the list included the multiple industry investors of the Ofer family from Israel. Sammy Ofer, the founder of the shipping business where it all started, died in 2011. His assets were divided among his sons, Monaco-based Eyal and UK-based Idan. The sons now run distinct commercial firms in shipping, real estate, and energy and have a combined net worth of $55.6 billion
Fidelity Investments, a key player in the wealth list, shifted its focus toward digital assets, including Bitcoin. The company, led by founder Edward C. Johnson II’s granddaughter and chief operating officer Abigail Johnson, ranked 11th on the list, amassing a wealth total of $72.4 billion.
Family Bitcoin wealth – Fidelity Investments digital assets
Fidelity Investments’ success can be attributed to its passion for integrating digital assets into traditional financial services through its branch, Fidelity Digital Assets.
The company’s journey into crypto began as early as 2014 when it started researching blockchain technology and digital assets. By 2018, Fidelity Digital Assets had made history as the first major financial services firm to offer institutional clients bitcoin custody services.
At the start of 2024, following immense pressure from the crypto community, Fidelity’s Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) application was approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), alongside 9 other filings. The startup’s FBTC ranks third in assets under management (AUM), behind IShares’s IBIT and Grayscale’s GBTC.
Fidelity’s Bitcoin investment policies have certainly drawn interest and trust from the community. Market data shows FBTC had the largest inflows among spot BTC ETFs on December 11, recording a whopping $122 million, more than 50% of the total net inflows counted within the date.
Fidelity $FBTC
🚀 FLOW: 1,201.31 BTC, $121,902,193🏦 TOTAL Bitcoin in Trust: 206,885.0 $BTC
FBTC holdings are updated 16+ hours after the close of trading
— Ubiq ETF Bot (@ubiqetfbot) December 12, 2024
Using a unique model compared to its publicly traded counterparts, Fidelity remains privately held, with the Johnson family controlling 49% of the company’s shares and voting power, according to SEC filings.
Michael O’Reilly, president of Fidelity’s digital assets division, highlighted this private ownership structure as a strategic advantage for its crypto custody services. Speaking to Fortune News, O’Reilly explained that it enables the firm to adopt a long-term perspective in areas like cryptocurrency, which many competitors have avoided. “Being privately held gives us quite an advantage there,” he said.
In other news, Fidelity’s spot Ethereum ETF has seen inflows exceeding $200 million within the past 48 hours. Per data from Arkham Intelligence, Fidelity’s FETH purchased $202.2 million worth of Ethereum on December 10, marking the ninth consecutive day of inflows, which now total over $645 million.
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