met has been a glorious pandemic for the richest people in the world. Forbes’ annual survey of billionaires includes a record 2,755 billionaires, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once again topping the list, the media company said on Tuesday.
The ranks of the super-rich have grown as the coronavirus pandemic has threatened the lives and livelihoods of millions across the planet, but stock markets have continued to reach new highs.
Bezos was one of the biggest winners, leading the search for the fourth consecutive year with a fortune of $ 177 billion, while Tesla boss Elon Musk soared to second place with a fortune of $ 151 billion, $ 126.4 billion more than a year ago, when it ranked 31 and was “just” $ 24.6 billion.
Together, the plutocrats added $ 5 trillion to their wealth for a combined fortune of $ 13.1 trillion, up from the $ 8 trillion on the 2020 list. A record 493 people joined the list this year – a new billionaire every 17 hours. The majority, 205, were in China. But the gains were widespread with gains around the world.
Not all were winners. According to the most recent list, Donald Trump’s position among other billionaires has plunged nearly 300 places since 2020, to 1,299. The humiliating downfall falls on Forbes, along with a quote from the former president: “I took a lot of finance courses at Wharton. First, they taught all the rules and regulations. Then they taught that these rules and regulations were meant to be broken.
Trump has lost millions in his golf stores, hotels and resorts in recent years. But it seems that companies that were distancing themselves from Trump after the attack on the Capitol continue to rent out his properties, helping him to earn millions on some properties last year.
Among the other losers was Galen Weston, president emeritus of George Weston, a Canadian food and retail giant that also owns Selfridges, which dropped off the list while the retail industry struggled with the aftermath of the pandemic. Model and businesswoman Kylie Jenner was also removed from the list after it was revealed that she had inflated her sales numbers to enter the 2020 list. But the Kardashians had a victory, her sister Kim Kardashian West (whose biography says, “I feel that success is the best revenge ”) was officially declared a billionaire.
Kanye West, Kardashian West’s ex-husband, also maintained his status as a billionaire with a fortune of $ 1.8 billion.
Sixty-one billionaires left the list this year, the lowest number of dropouts in a decade. Among them was Isabel dos Santos, who was once the richest woman in Africa, who fell amid accusations of corruption.
But overall, it was a great year to be a billionaire. Eighty-six percent of the list increased his wealth.
New entrants included film and TV producer Tyler Perry, who provided a home and security for Prince Harry and Meghan when they moved from Canada to Los Angeles last year.
Bumble dating app co-founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, 31, became the youngest self-made billionaire in the world, and European Guillaume Pousaz, 39, founder of the payment company Checkout.com, the youngest self billionaire -made male.
Britain’s richest man, James Ratcliffe, founder, president and majority owner of the chemical company Ineos Group, climbed five places on the list to 113 with a fortune of $ 17 billion.
The wealthiest newcomer was Miriam Adelson, from Nevada, who inherited the casino empire from her husband Sheldon Adelson after her death in January and a $ 38.2 billion fortune.
About 250 people who had previously dropped off the list returned to participate this year. The high tide apparently raises all mega yachts.
But it was the incredibly wealthy who made the biggest gains. The 0.001% fared even better than their lower peers. The 10 richest people on the list are worth $ 1.15 trillion, up from $ 686 billion last year.
“The very, very rich have become much, much richer,” Forbes content director Randall Lane said in an interview with Reuters Video News.
Meanwhile, the pandemic appears to increase the number of people living in extreme poverty by up to 150 million this year – the first year that the number found by the world bank has increased in 20 years.