The list of the richest people in the world is constantly growing, with their wealth increasing year by year. The Forbes Slovakia ranking of the Richest Slovaks in 2024 includes 45 millionaires who made it onto the list this year. The total value of their assets amounts to nearly 19 billion euros, showing a significant increase from the previous year’s sum of 15 billion euros.
According to Lucia Okšová, the editor-in-chief of Forbes Slovakia, most of the companies in the portfolios of the richest Slovaks have managed to cope relatively well with challenging times such as increased inflation, an energy crisis, and the war in Ukraine. Millionaires are diversifying their portfolios and making opportunistic decisions to navigate through these turbulent times.
One of the reasons for the year-on-year increase in the total value of their assets is the growth of assets in the portfolios of the top five wealthiest individuals. For example, the growth in the healthcare sector has boosted the wealth of Tomáš Chrenek and his Agel network, as well as Jaroslav Haščák and Penta, whose flagship is the Dr. Max pharmacy chain.
The most significant change in this year’s ranking of the richest Slovaks by Forbes occurred at the top spot, which is now occupied by Chrenek, an steel magnate and co-owner of the Moravia Steel group, which includes Třinecké železiarne and the healthcare network Agel. The cumulative value of his assets is estimated to reach two billion euros, replacing long-time leader Ivan Chrenko as the wealthiest Slovak.
Similarly, Patrik and Jozef Tkáč, the masterminds behind the J&T group, are said to have experienced a growth in their assets. The magazine estimated their wealth at 1.89 billion euros this year, with a significant portion coming from Jozef Tkáč’s over 45% stake in J&T Finance Group. Haščák, who recently returned to the top management of the investment group Penta, secured another spot with assets valued at 1.8 billion euros.
Chrenko, whose wealth decreased by 300 million euros compared to the previous year, dropped to fourth place in the ranking with assets worth 1.4 billion euros. The top five Slovak billionaires are rounded out by Ivan Jakabovič, a long-time partner at J&T and the second-largest shareholder in J&T Finance Group, whose assets reached 1.16 billion euros thanks to the growing value of this asset, as reported by Forbes.
In a report by the news agency Informa Connect, it is suggested that at the current pace of wealth accumulation, tech billionaire Elon Musk is on track to become the world’s first trillionaire in three years. With a current wealth of 195 billion US dollars (approximately 177 billion euros), if his wealth continues to grow at the current rate of 110% per year, he is projected to reach a value of 1.195 trillion USD by 2027.
The race to become the first trillionaire in the world is heating up, with Musk leading the pack. It will be fascinating to see how these billionaires continue to grow their wealth and shape the global economy in the coming years.