Major Professional Resurgences of 2024
Over a decade, Our Platform has highlighted significant career downfalls (check out the 2024 list here), so it seemed fitting to examine the business magnates who managed to regain their footing in 2024, resurrecting their companies and careers from the brink of collapse. Yes, even the powerful can experience a fall, but they have the capability to recover and regain their position at the top.
Donald Trump
There isn't a man more adept at making a come back than Donald Trump. Despite facing three major legal trials and the looming threat of imprisonment as a convicted misdemeanor offender, Trump will take his oath as the 47th President of the United States on January 20th, having triumphed in a closely-watched election campaign. His previous term in office concluded with Trump leaving the White House twice impeached, drowning in debt, and holding a disapproval rating of an unprecedented 62% - the highest for any departing President, aside from Richard Nixon. However, a substantial majority of Americans currently approve of Trump's role in the presidential transition.
As of now, with his recent election success, Trump's popularity is at an all-time high. His net worth stands at a staggering $6.2 billion, a drop from his peak of $8.1 billion in May.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk's appearance on Our Platform’ list of the most notable career downfalls in 2022 was due to his controversial ownership of Twitter (renamed X). During his brief tenure as CEO, prior to Linda Yaccarino stepping in, Musk botched layoffs, insulted users, changed policies and left investors, particularly those of Tesla, anxious.
However, presently, Musk assumes the position of the wealthiest person in the world. In December, musk became the first individual to surpass a $400 billion net worth due to a new $350 billion valuation for SpaceX. This has resulted in a significant increase in his wealth this year, upwards of $150 billion, thanks to his 13% stake in Tesla, whose stock has climbed by 70% this year, and a projected 54% stake in xAI, which investors estimated to be worth $50 billion in November. Beyond his wealth, Musk also claims the top spot in Trump’s new inner circle. Since investing $200 million to secure Trump's election, Musk was appointed to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, which provides guidance on government spending reduction strategies, alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.
Adam Neumann
WeWork's founder and ex-CEO, Adam Neumann, made headlines this year with a series of extravagant commitments to acquire WeWork out of bankruptcy. Under Neumann's leadership, WeWork transformed from a promising startup valued at $47 billion to a failed IPO, prompting Neumann's resignation as CEO. In February, Neumann announced his intentions to purchase the company for $650 million alongside Dan Loeb's hedge fund Third Point, but the proposal was eventually turned down. Instead, Neumann shifted his emphasis to developing his new real estate startup. In August, Neumann's Flow quietly opened its first property in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The startup is Neumann's latest attempt to build co-living and working facilities. It secured a total of $350 million from Andreessen Horowitz in 2022 to establish "the future of living." Flow's other branded properties in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida, were opened in April.
All these new investments have contributed to Neumann's continued billionaire status. His current net worth stands at a staggering $2.3 billion, owing to a nearly 10% stake in WeWork, majority stakes in apartments worth $1 billion before debt, and the over $1 billion 2022 valuation of Flow.
Michael Saylor
MicroStrategy's chairman, Michael Saylor, had an exceptional year in 2024. Formerly a rocket scientist, Saylor has transformed MicroStrategy into a major institutional holder of bitcoin, owning 439,000 coins now worth around $44 billion. Although skeptics questioned MicroStrategy's extreme bitcoin investment –- the company now describes itself as "the world's first and largest Bitcoin Treasury Company" – the strategy is paying off. MicroStrategy's stock surged by 403%, eclipsing bitcoin's 137% rise and the S&P 500's 24% return.
Saylor has benefited significantly from the stock price increase, which was further bolstered by its mid-December inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 stock index, the basis for the popular Invesco QQQ exchange-traded fund. Overall, Saylor's net worth has more than doubled within the past year, largely due to his personal bitcoin holdings and his stake in MicroStrategy. As of now, his net worth stands at an impressive $8.7 billion.
Fran Horowitz
Abercrombie and Fitch's CEO, Fran Horowitz, has experienced another year of growth for the millennial and GenZ favorite clothing brand. Since Horowitz took over as CEO in 2017, Abercrombie and Fitch's stock has rebounded from an all-time low of under $10 per share to its current price of $149. This recovery has also helped the company establish itself as one of the top mid-cap stocks in the United States in 2024, with a 500% growth rate since 2023 and a 60% increase this year. Horowitz's emphasis on inclusive sizing, an expanded product range, and a modern brand image targeting professionals has driven twelve-month sales to $4.8 billion in December, up by 20% from the previous year. A new wedding dress line was introduced in 2024.
Horowitz has led Abercrombie and Fitch's sales and financial success despite the latest legal challenges facing the company. In October, the Department of Justice charged former CEO Mike Jeffried with human trafficking and interstate prostitution, to which he pleaded not guilty.
After only a year since the previous CEO of BP stepped down due to concealing past relations with female colleagues within the company, Bernard Looney is now joining the board of Prometheus Hyperscale, a data company based in Wyoming. In May, Prometheus Hyperscale sealed a deal with Oko, a nuclear energy firm backed by Open AI CEO Sam Altman. In his new capacity as chairperson, Looney will spearhead the construction of the company's flagship $10 billion data center in Evanston. Additionally, he recently joined the board of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).
Before his departure in September 2023, Looney had a significant career with the British oil and gas giant, advancing from a post-graduate drilling engineer to CEO within three years. Although BP declared he didn't breach company regulations, they believed he lacked transparency, resulting in a forfeiture of over $40 million in compensation and part of his previous bonus for intentionally misleading the board in a case of "serious misconduct."
John Galliano
What an intriguing departure from the top! After demonstrating a stunning performance as creative director for Maison Margiela for the past decade and impressing the fashion world with January’s Maison Margiela Artisanal show, John Galliano is preparing to leave the French luxury fashion house. Galliano played a crucial role in popularizing the famed Tabi shoes and boosting sales by 23% in 2023, according to Vogue Business. Remaining tight-lipped about his future plans beyond Maison Margiela, he hinted on Instagram, "When the time is right, all will be revealed."
Contrasting with his initial employment at the brand, Galliano's Maison Margiela role marked his return following a controversial exit from Dior in 2011, where he'd served as creative director for 15 years. Fired during Paris Fashion Week due to videos that surfaced highlighting his use of antisemitic remarks, Galliano's resurrection from fashion world exile to internet fame was nothing short of remarkable, charted in the Amazon Prime documentary High and Low: John Galliano.
Sankaet Pathak
Who would have thought a career crash and comeback could occur within a single year? In May, Sankaet Pathak, the founder and CEO of Synapse, was removed from the company with a bankruptcy judge replacing existing management and entrusting an independent Chapter 11 trustee to oversee the company. Synapse, a struggling banking-as-a-service company, filed for bankruptcy this year after a year of searching for banking partners and potential buyers. In the turmoil, at least 30,000 customers lost access to over $114 million in their funds, but lawyers estimate up to 20 million end-users could be at risk.
Paralleling the bankruptcy proceedings, Pathak is already seeking investment for his new venture. In August, he revealed to TechCrunch that he'd raised $11 million from Tribe Capital among others, for his new company, Foundation, a robotics startup aiming to develop humanoid robots to tackle the existing labor shortage.
- Despite facing legal trials and the risk of imprisonment, Donald Trump managed to secure a second term as the 47th President of the United States, with a net worth of $6.2 billion.
- Elon Musk, who once appeared on a list of notable career downfalls due to his controversial ownership of Twitter, now holds the title as the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth surpassing $400 billion.
- Michael Saylor, the chairman of MicroStrategy, transformed the company into a major Bitcoin holder, leading to a 403% stock surge and his personal net worth exceeding $8.7 billion.
- John Galliano, after experiencing a controversial exit from Dior due to antisemitic remarks, made a comeback as creative director for Maison Margiela, boosting sales by 23% and gaining internet fame through the Amazon Prime documentary High and Low: John Galliano.
- Sankaet Pathak, the former CEO of Synapse, was removed from the company during bankruptcy proceedings, but he later raised $11 million for his new robotics startup, Foundation, aiming to tackle the labor shortage.
