The world’s top 500 richest people added about $ 1.8 trillion to their combined net worth in 2020, bringing them to a total net worth of $ 7.6 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Bloomberg noted that the 31 percent increase, which came even during the economic crisis spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, is the largest annual gain in the index’s eight-year history.
Growth especially reached those at the top, where five people now own more than $ 100 billion each, with another 20 individuals worth at least $ 50 billion each.
At the top of the Bloomberg index is Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey (Jeff) Preston BezosAmazon delivered more than 1.5 billion items during the Washington Post holiday season to add more than 150 jobs next year, giving newsroom a record size Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated more than billion in the past 4 months MORE with about $ 190 billion. The tech company benefited greatly from the pandemic, when lockdowns and health restrictions forced more people to shop online.
Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk Trump Ends Obama’s 12-Year Run As Most Admired Man: Gallup Apple CEO Ignored Meeting Request To Discuss Tesla Sale, Musk Says NASA Selects Next Artemis Moonwalkers While SpaceX Controls Spaceship MORE saw the greatest prosperity increase in 2020, which Bloomberg said was possibly the fastest wealth creation in history.
Now valued at $ 170 billion, Musk first surpassed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for the title of second richest person in the world in November.
Musk’s boom in prosperity was largely driven by Tesla, which has a market value of nearly $ 670 billion as of Saturday. About three-quarters of Musk’s net worth is in Tesla stock.
Bloomberg reported that Bezos and Musk together had an increase in net worth of about $ 217 billion in 12 months, which is roughly enough to send $ 2,000 checks to more than 100 million Americans.
The ascent of the Tesla founder was only the second time in the index’s history that Gates was not considered one of the two richest people in the world.
Gates now occupies the third top spot with a total net worth of approximately $ 132 billion, while Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, ranked fourth with $ 114 billion.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot ZuckerbergSelena Gomez Criticizes Facebook Over COVID-19 Disinformation: ‘To Be Responsible for Thousands of Deaths’ Facebook Feud With Apple Escalates Hillicon Valley: Lawmakers Call for Action After ‘Devastating’ Cyber Attack on Federal Government | US Cyber Agency Issues Emergency Directive After Hacks | FTC opens privacy investigation into major internet platforms MORE is the fifth richest person in the world with a net worth of approximately $ 104 billion.
According to Chuck Collins, director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies, the growth of the world’s top billionaires’ hits a sore nerve for the millions of people who have lost loved ones and experienced deterioration in their health. . , wealth and livelihood. ”
“Worse, it undermines any sense that we are ‘in this together’ – the solidarity it takes to get through the difficult months ahead,” Collins told Bloomberg.
As of Saturday, more than 84 million people worldwide have been infected with COVID-19, with more than 1.8 million deaths from the virus, said data collected by Johns Hopkins University.