Tech Moguls and Their Money
Big tech is booming and the only thing that’s booming even more are the wallets of the big tech founders. These multi-billionaires are some of the wealthiest people in the world. Today, we‘re looking at the net worth, investments, and strategies of some of the biggest tech moguls. After that, we’ll give you the top tradable events you won’t want to miss this week.
Tech titans under the microscope
#1 Elon Musk
Net worth: $236.1 billion
Strategy: Risk-taker. Long-term mindset, willing to wait for investments to pay off.
Elon Musk is, by far, the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of well over $200 billion. Musk is, of course, the headline-chasing CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. He’s also invested in a number of other companies including Twitter (or X as it’s now known), Neuralink, and OpenAI.
Musk’s investments are often risky, but they have also regularly succeeded. One great example is Bitcoin. He invested early on and his stake in the cryptocurrency is now worth billions of dollars.
Good investments:
● Tesla: Musk’s biggest investment is in Tesla, he owns roughly 13% of the company. Tesla’s stock price has skyrocketed in recent years from $17 to over $200, and Musk’s stake in the company is now worth over $100 billion.
● SpaceX: Musk is also the Founder and CEO of SpaceX, a space exploration company. SpaceX has made significant progress in developing reusable rockets and is now one of the leading companies in the space industry.
Bad investments:
● Twitter (X): The jury is out on this one, but it’s not exactly going great. Musk recently acquired Twitter for $44 billion and rebranded the platform to X. A poor rebrand, some controversial decisions over user handles and the Twitter blue tick fiasco are just a few dodgy ones!
● The Boring Company: The Boring Company is a tunnel construction company that Musk founded in 2016. The company has yet to generate any significant revenue, and has been criticised for its high costs.
● Neuralink: Neuralink is a neurotechnology company that Musk founded in 2016. Neuralink is still in its early stages of development, and it is unclear whether the company will be successful, but early signs don’t look great.
#2 Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $110.9 billion
Strategy: Long-term. Likes to invest in (or forcibly buy out
?!) small start-ups and grow them over time.
Mark Zuckerberg is the co-founder and CEO of Facebook. He’s the fifth-wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of over $100 billion. Zuck’s investments are mostly in tech companies, part of his belief that tech has the power to change the world.
Good investments:
● Facebook: Facebook is one of the most popular websites in the world, and it has over 2 billion active users.
● Breakthrough Energy: Breakthrough Energy is a venture capital firm that invests in clean energy technologies.
Bad investments:
● Oculus VR: Oculus VR is a virtual reality company that Zuckerberg acquired in 2014. Oculus VR hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. It allegedly lost $21 billion last year. That’s the definition of a “bad investment.”
● Onavo: Onavo was a mobile analytics company that Zuckerberg acquired in 2013. It was used by Facebook to collect data on its users and was very publicly criticised for its privacy practices before being shut down in 2019.
#3 Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $151.6 billion
Strategy: Long-term. Bold — not afraid to invest in unproven tech.
Jeff Bezos is the second-wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of over $160 billion. You probably know him as the founder, chairman, and CEO of Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer.
He also once said that he wants to “die on Mars”. You do you, Jeff.
Good investments:
● Amazon: Shock! Founded in 1994, Amazon is now one of the most valuable companies in the world, with a market cap of $1.43 trillion, and it’s made Bezos a billionaire many times over.
● The Washington Post: Bezos acquired The Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million. The newspaper has since become profitable again, and it has won several Pulitzer Prizes under Bezos’s ownership.
● Blue Origin: Jeff founded Blue Origin in 2000. The company is developing reusable rockets that could eventually be used to transport people to space.
Bad investments:
● Pets.com: Pets.com was an online pet supplies retailer that went bankrupt in 2000. Bezos invested $30 million in the company and lost every penny. Ouch.
● Theranos: Theranos was a blood testing company that was founded by Elizabeth Holmes. Bezos invested $100 million in the company, but it was later revealed that Theranos’ technology was not as effective as it claimed to be. In fact, Holmes and Theranos turned out to be a giant scam! Check out this timeline for more info — it’s a riveting story!
Bezos is also a big believer in crypto and has invested heavily in Bitcoin and Ethereum. He believes cryptocurrencies have the potential to revolutionise the way we think about money.
#4 Larry Page and Sergey Brin
Net worth: $108.6 billion and $103.2 billion, respectively.
Strategy: Long-term, slow burners. Everything revolves around enhancing Google’s ability to provide optimum UX. They’ve also invested in crypto.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin are the co-founders of Google. Page is the CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company and Brin is the president of Alphabet’s parent company.
Good investments:
● Alphabet: Again, no surprise! Page and Brin’s biggest investment is Alphabet, the company they co-founded. Alphabet is now one of the most valuable companies in the world, with a market cap of $1.62 trillion.
● Calico: Calico is a life sciences company that is focused on extending human life. Page and Brin invested in Calico in 2013, and the company has made some promising progress in its research.
● DeepMind: DeepMind is a British artificial intelligence company that was acquired by Google in 2014. DeepMind has developed some ground breaking artificial intelligence technologies, and it’s seen as one of the leaders in the field.
Bad investments:
● Wag: Wag is a dog walking service that was acquired by Google in 2016. Wag has struggled to find any kind of profit. (They should have had a word with Jeff Bezos!)
● Makani: Makani is a wind energy company founded in 2009. Makani has developed some innovative wind turbine technologies, but the company was dropped by Google as it totally flopped.
#5 Benjamin Silbermann
Net worth: $1.6 billion
Strategy: Focuses on companies with a desire to solve real-world problems.
You’d be forgiven for not recognising the name. Unlike many on this list, Silbermann likes to keep himself to himself and has a pretty healthy outlook on social media and its dangers. “At its most basic level, it’s just about you,” Silbermann told CNN Business’ Laurie Segall in a recent interview. “It’s not about following the news. It’s not about accruing followers. It’s not about following celebrities. It’s really about your personal interests.” He’s the co-founder and executive chairman of Pinterest. He is also a venture capitalist and angel investor.
Good investments:
● Pinterest: Silbermann has turned the platform into one of the most used and recognised brands in the world of social media and has a market cap of $18.23 billion. Need we say any more?
Bad investments:
● Truth be told — we couldn’t find any. We’re sure there are some, but Silbermann has done a good job of keeping them hush. If only everyone on this list was so careful. Well done, Ben!
Let us know what you think!
Did we miss anything? Which of these is your favourite? Do you think any i.nvestor tops these guys? Join the debate at @_contentworks.
.Top fundamental events week commencing 07.08.23
Ready for the week ahead? Here’s everything you need to know about.
Monday, August 7
No specific events are planned.
Tuesday, August 8
● AUD — Westpac Consumer Confidence Change AUG; NAB Business Confidence JUL
● CNY — Balance of Trade JUL
Wednesday, August 9
● CNY — Inflation Rate YoY JUL
Thursday, August 10
● USD — Core Inflation Rate YoY JUL; Core Inflation Rate MoM JUL; Inflation Rate YoY JUL; Inflation Rate MoM JUL
Friday, August 11
● GBP — GDP Growth Rate YoY Prel Q2; GDP Growth Rate QoQ Prel Q2; GDP MoM JUN
● USD — PPI MoM JUL; Michigan Consumer Sentiment Prel AUG
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The Contentworks team
