Keeping Up with Global Billionaires Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic

This year took an unusual and unexpected turn following the outbreak of the coronavirus which has now become a global pandemic.

As the coronavirus pandemic ravaged global economies over the last four months, many global citizens have been rendered jobless, homeless, and hungry. In America alone, about 40 million people filed for unemployment due to shutdown measures caused by the pandemic. Millions are also on the verge of losing their homes, unless with a strong intervention by the government. About a third of the global population have also lost their lives due to COVID-19-related deaths.

When the pandemic reached its peak in March-April, the stock market slid into the bear territory for the first time in 11 years, and many investors lost their monies. While it seems like the coronavirus pandemic had no good effect on the global economy, there were reports that showed some individuals and organizations greatly benefitted from the unfortunate turn of events.

The Top Gainers Amid Covid-19

This will not be the first time billionaires see massive gains while the rest of the economy suffers. There are many reasons for this, one of which includes the government providing more financial aid and support to bigger companies considered “too big to fail”, companies that largely affect the nation’s economy as a whole.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has seen his wealth double in the last four months, gaining a total of $83 billion since mid-March and $71 billion on a YTD basis. The founder of the video conferencing platform, Zoom, also saw his wealth increase by more than $2.5 billion from March to June 2020.

Casino Magnate Sheldon Adelson saw his net worth grow by $5 billion, same also, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer who had a $15.7 billion wealth increase from March to June 2020. Many other billionaires like Tesla’s Elon Musk, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Google’s Larry Page, among others saw massive increments in their net worth over the last four months. According to Business Insider, billionaires in the United States saw a total increase of $637 billion amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a survey done by Forbes and GoBankingRates.com on global billionaires, it was shown that seven of the 50 richest people in the world saw their net worth increase by 50% between mid-March and June 2020. According to data from GoBankingRates.com these are the top 7 gainers for who saw a 50% increase in their wealth.