The rich are getting richer and the exclusive group of the super-rich are even richer than they were two months ago. From the wealthiest people on Forbes’ list of world billionaires, twenty-five have gained a whopping $255 billion more in their fortune than when the U.S. stock market hit a mid-pandemic low on March 23. This stands to say that not a singlet Top 25 Fortune has fallen since March 23. These 25 billionaires altogether are worth nearly $1.5 trillion, which is about 16% of the total wealth held by the world’s billionaires. Of these 25, here are the top 4 billionaires with growing fortunes amidst Covid-19.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the biggest dollar gainer among this rare group. Facebook shares rose by nearly 60% over the past two months, reaching a record high on Friday May 22. Zuckerberg, now worth $86.5 billion, has progressed from no. 7 to become the fourth-richest person in the world. The 36-year-old tech-preneur is now richer than Warren Buffett, Inditex founder Amancio Ortega and Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison.
The richest man in the world, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is the second-largest gainer in dollar terms. Shares of the e-commerce giant have skyrocketed amid increased demand since coronavirus disrupted physical retailers. Amazon stock is up 29% since March 23. Thus, making Bezos worth $146.9 billion, up $30 billion and 26% since March 23.
The biggest percentage gainer is founder of China’s second largest online marketplace behind Alibaba. Colin Zheng Huang, 40-year-old founder and CEO of Pinduoduo is now China’s third-richest person. With his recent addition of $17.9 billion to his fortunes, making him worth $35.6 billion.
Another notable gainer: Mukesh Ambani, who became Asia’s richest person after his $5.7 billion investment partnership with Facebook. The company, Reliance Jio, has since raised a lot more capital including $1.5 billion from private equity giant KKR, $750 million from investment firm Silver Lake and even, $10 billion of fresh capital in less than one month. Ambani is now worth $52.7 billion, up nearly $20 billion to his fortunes since the market crisis.
Push Your Dreams 2020
“Push Your Dreams” is an Electronic Non-Fiction Book of inspiring and powerful educational extracts authored by Olatorera Oniru. “Push Your Dreams” has 365 pages filled with powerful sparks to help you grow fast into an influential master of business and life. Available now on Olatorera.com and on Amazon.com.
About Olatorera Consultancy (OC):
Olatorera Consultancy is a modernistic venture combining deeply-rooted knowledge on Africa’s culture and challenges plus close relationships with topmost leaders to promote development. We provide consultancy, business development and advisory services to notable companies and high net-worth individuals.
