Billionaires have lived in an orbit which always distinct from the rest of us. More decent stuff, more strength, rocket-launching stations. But the gap was greatly reduced in 2020.
While most of the world struggled against the rise of unemployment, 0.001% gained from the unparalleled generation of wealth.
The 500 richest people in the world this year have contributed $1.8 trillion to their combined net and are worth $7.6 trillion. This is the largest annual rise in the eight-year index period, equal to a 31% increase, and a $3 trillion leap from the peak in March.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com Inc. is now the richest man in the world. Elon Musk got the most on the list. In twelve months, both won $217 billion.
The shockwaves of COVID brought up particular immobilizing markets but raised fortunes in unpredictable niches.
Chinese immigrant Eric Yuan was famous for his Zoom Video Communications Inc. video-conference technology was as inevitable as Kleenex.
One of the richest families in the world, behind the used car platform Carvana.com, while Twins from Winklevoss can call themselves billionaires again because of a growing interest in cryptocurrencies.
Exuberant markets and a wide variety of public offers build China’s super-laden wealth. In comparison to every other country other than the US, the Chinese Index members added $569 billion to their fortune.
After two of its initial offers, Zhong Shanshan was the wealthiest individual in Asia and added $70.9 billion to the net value of his businesses. He succeeded Mukesh Ambani, who has begun to turn his conglomerate into a technology and e-commerce colossus.
Jack Ma began the year as the richest Chinese individual. Then, soon after Ma’s negative criticism of Chinese regulators, Ant’s IPO collapsed and his net worth slips, along with some of the other tech titans of the world.
In neighboring Hong Kong, the Chinese government has cast a long shadow over tycoons. After several years of gains, China’s contentious national security regulations hindered the fortunes of many of the wealthiest people in the administrative area by falling property prices and confusion.
Overall, high income added fuel to populist movements and increased interest in raising taxes.
But the crises in this year also highlight the position of billionaire capital and the commitments under control when there is no response from the government.
Few apart from biotech noticed at the beginning of the year of Moderna Inc. and BioNTech SE. In the spring following the Cambridge, the Massachusetts-based corporation became an early battleground of the vaccine sprint, French-born Stephane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, became a billionaire.
German scientist Ugur Sahin led the creation of a vaccine that was the first to be approved for use in the US with his wife Ozlem Tureci, BioNTech’s Chief Medical Officer. He has gained $3.6 billion from his stake.
Meanwhile, in a few months, Mackenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos’ former wife, gave away nearly $6 billion. Despite giving money at an unprecedented rate, it became much richer in 2020 than in the beginning.
This pandemic has already been a wrecking ball in Americans’ lives. In the meantime, the income of the billionaires has grown significantly.
