The world’s billionaires have been seeing a fall in their wealth ever since the start of the year, with stock markets going haywire from time to time over several factors like the Russia-Ukraine war, and the consequences resulting out of it. With back to back reasons like the Omicron wave, Russia Ukraine war and a subsequent inflation rise across the globe, which is not taming till now, stock markets have faced some of their worst days this year. This, in turn, has resulted in losses for investors, and the richest people in the world have lost in trillions.
As per a report by Bloomberg, the world’s 500 richest people have together lost $1.4 trillion in the first half of 2022. This decline is the sharpest ever six-month drop in the global billionaires category, the report said. The world’s riches person Elon Musk saw his wealth tumble about $62 billion, while Amazon chief Jeff Bezos had his net worth plunging by about $63 billion. On the other hand, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg’s wealth declined by more than half. However, the biggest sufferer was crypto pioneer Changpeng Zhao, whose wealth was slashed by a whooping $80 million during the same time frame.
In a sharp contrast with the last two years, billionaires have suffered slashes in their net worth. Over 2020 and 2021, the fortunes of the ultra wealthy grew manifold as central banks along with governments released a slew of stimulus measures in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, in a bid to keep the economy stable, juicing the value of everything ranging from cryptocurrencies to tech.
The situation has changed now, especially due to the ripple effects of the Russia-Ukraine war that has resulted in an unprecedented inflationary pressure. This has forced policy makers and central banks across the world to raise interest rates to tackle rising inflation. In turn, some of the highest-flying shares are losing their heights quickly, and down with them have gone the wealth of the billionaires who own them. As per the Bloomberg report, ” Tesla Inc. had its worst quarter ever in the three months through June, while Amazon.com Inc. plummeted by the most since the dot-com bubble burst. According to it, even though the losses are hitting the billionaires hard, it only shows a small step towards shrinking economic inequality.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is the wealthiest person in the world, has a net worth of $208.5 billion, while Jeff Bezos comes second with a $129.6 billion net worth, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. France’s wealthiest man Bernard Arnault, claims the third place with a wealth of $128.7, followed by Microsoft’s Bill Gates with a fortune of $114.8. They are the only four remaining in the $100 billion club, which saw 10 persons during the start of the year.
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