According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the net worth of the richest 500 people has now reached $ 7.6 trillion.
In the year 2020, the whole world was hit by the coronavirus pandemic and due to this, unprecedented conditions were seen. People lost their jobs, unemployment reached its peak and many businesses closed down. But these circumstances were not for everyone. For the world’s richest, 2020 has been a year of record-breaking capital raising. The wealthiest 500 people have added $ 1.8 trillion to their combined net worth.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the net worth of the richest 500 people has now reached $ 7.6 trillion. This is an increase of 31 percent.
According to Bloomberg, this is the largest annual increase so far in the eight-year history of the index. However, this increase in net worth is not the same among 500 people. The top 5 rich people now have more than 100 billion dollars of money, while the net worth of the other 20 is at least 50 billion dollars. Â
Two people benefited the most
The two people who have seen the biggest increase in net worth in 2020 are the top two richest people in the world – Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. About 1 / 5th of the $ 1.8 trillion has gone into Bezos and Musk’s pocket.
According to Bloomberg estimates, Musk’s net worth has increased five-fold since January 2020. He has added $ 132 billion to his wealth, making him the second richest person in the world with total wealth of $ 159 billion.
At the same time, Bezos’s wealth has increased by about 70 billion dollars and he is the richest person in the world with total wealth of about 186 billion dollars.
What caused so much wealth?
The increase in assets of Bezos and Musk is due to the boom in the stocks of Amazon and Tesla. In 2020, Tesla shares have risen nearly 800 percent. The main reasons for this are the start of production of vehicles in Shanghai’s big factory, the company’s quarterly results and the possibility of increasing demand for electric vehicles in 2021.
On the other hand, Amazon’s stock has risen about 70 percent in the year 2020. Increased purchases from e-commerce in the lockdown caused by the pandemic have benefited Amazon.
The net worth of Bezos and Musk has increased by more than $ 200 billion in total. According to the Washington Post, this amount is more than the GDP of 139 countries.