In the first six months of this year, the 500 richest people in the world lost 1.4 trillion dollarsa plunge billed as the steepest drop for the global billionaire class for a semester.
Elon Musk. Jeff Bezos. Mark Zuckerberg. None of the billionaires was spared the losses, according to a report from Bloomberg.
What is the reason for such a drop? It is a combination of factors. Unlike the previous two years, the fortunes of the ultra-rich have risen as governments and central banks unleashed unprecedented stimulus to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Such measures increased the value of everything from technology companies to cryptocurrencies.
However, so far this year, central banks like the Federal Reserve (and the Bank of Mexico) have raised interest rates to combat rising inflation. In that context, billionaires and their fortunes have fallen.
For example, Tesla just recorded its worst quarterwhile Amazon.com slumped the most since the tech bubble burst.
Who lost more? The millionaires with more losses
Collectively, the 10 richest people in the world recorded losses of around 258 billion dollars.
Here’s how it went in the first six months of this 2022.
- Elon MuskCEO of Tesla, lost 61.8 billion dollars. His fortune is valued at 208 billion
- Jeff Bezosfounder of Amazon.com his fortune plummeted 62.7 billion and now it is estimated at 30 billion
- Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, lost 49.3 billion, so his wealth is valued at 29 billion
- Bill Gatesco-founder of Microsoft, lost 23.4 billionwith which he has 115 billion
- Larry Page, co-founder of Alphabet, recorded losses of 29 billion. His fortune is 99.4 billion
- Sergey Brin, co-founder of Alphabetlost 28.3 billion and now his fortune is estimated at 95.3 billion.
- Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathawaylost 14.1 billionwith which it is estimated that it has 94.8 billion
- Steve Ballmer, co-founder of Microsoft, recorded a drop of 14.6 billion in his wealth with which he amassed a fortune of 91.1 billion
Carlos Slim, among the winners
While some of the world’s richest people saw their fortunes fall, others benefited from the conditions.
Gautam Adani, founder of the Adani Group, reported profits of 22.1 billion, thus reaching a wealth of around 98 billion dollars.
Another winner is Mukesh Ambani, president of Reliance Industries, who earned $3.1 billion in the first six months of this year.
Out of the top 10 richest people in the world, several millionaires took advantage of the conditions to increase their wealth. One of them is the Mexican Charles Slimalong with Charles Koch, the Wertheimer families, and the Ferrero families.
With information from Bloomberg.
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