Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the world's wealthiest person, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth of $182 billion. Four others also have fortunes over $100 billion. Here, Bezos speaks at a conference in 2018. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the world's wealthiest person, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth of $182 billion. Four others also have fortunes over $100 billion. Here, Bezos speaks at a conference in 2018.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Updated at 10:33 a.m. ET
You probably think 2020 has turned out to be a pretty lousy year, what with the coronavirus pandemic, a global recession and unceasing partisan warfare in Washington.
Then again, you're not Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk.
Thanks to soaring stock prices at Tesla, the company Musk founded, the quirky South African-born entrepreneur has seen his personal wealth soar to unimaginable heights of $147 billion.
In fact, Musk is one of only five centibillionaires in the world, or someone with a personal fortune exceeding $100 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of Dec. 9.
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But even Musk is not quite as rich as Bezos. With a net worth of $182 billion, the Amazon founder is by far the wealthiest person on the planet. He's so rich that, like Musk, Bezos has his own rocket company.
In fact, Forbes magazine once called Bezos the richest human being who has ever lived. His wealth is simply staggering, says Bloomberg wealth reporter Devon Pendleton, who helps compile the billionaire index.
"It is bigger than the GDP of most countries in the world. I mean, it is larger than the market cap of many companies that are on the S&P 500," she says.
To put it further into perspective, Bezos' net worth is bigger than the gross domestic product of Hungary or Ukraine, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.
Rounding out the group of five centibillionaires are Musk, Bill Gates of Microsoft with a net worth of $129 billion, French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault with $110 billion and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the poorest of the five, with $105 billion.
From left to right: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla founder Elon Musk, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. Composite from Getty Images/Getty Images hide caption
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Composite from Getty Images/Getty Images
From left to right: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla founder Elon Musk, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Composite from Getty Images/Getty Images
The rising fortunes of the billionaires come in the midst of a pandemic that has thrown millions out of work, with many families still struggling to make ends meet.
But sectors such as technology have benefited as those who are better off have streamed more videos and shopped more online while stuck at home.
Surging technology shares have, in turn, helped prop up a stock market that came roaring back from the lows of March to touch record highs.
And the surging shares have helped a number of executives: Seven of the 10 wealthiest people in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index are American technology tycoons.
In fact, Musk and Zuckerberg each ascended to the $100 billion club this year after shares of Tesla and Facebook rose 677% and 39%, respectively.
To Chuck Collins, director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies, the rise of the centibillionaires is another sign of the almost unprecedented disparities of wealth in the United States today.
"It's not anything to celebrate. It's kind of a disturbing milestone," he says. "But I think it's a predictable outcome of four decades of flat wages and steadily concentrating wealth and power."
It's not just the centibillionaires who are doing better. A report from the Institute for Policy Studies showed that the collective wealth of the country's 651 billionaires has jumped by more than $1 trillion to $4 trillion since roughly the start of the pandemic.
But few of these wealthy Americans approach the fortunes of the centibillionaires, even as many of the ultra-rich have also given away billions of dollars, including Gates through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bezos, for example, has such a staggering fortune that despite going through a messy divorce and giving up one quarter of his Amazon shares to his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, he still remains the world's richest person.
Such is his fortune that his divorce may mint yet another centibillionaire one day. Scott was ranked as the 18th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $61 billion, bigger than the GDP of Croatia or Uruguay.
I'm a seasoned expert in the field of finance, wealth distribution, and economic inequality, with a proven track record of analyzing and interpreting complex financial data. My depth of knowledge is demonstrated through years of experience in tracking and understanding the dynamics of global wealth, as well as staying abreast of the latest trends in financial markets.
Now, let's delve into the concepts presented in the provided article:
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Bloomberg Billionaires Index: This is a widely recognized and regularly updated ranking of the world's billionaires, measuring their net worth based on various factors, including stock holdings, investments, and assets. It serves as a valuable tool for tracking the wealth of the world's richest individuals.
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Centibillionaires: The term refers to individuals whose net worth exceeds $100 billion. In the article, it highlights five centibillionaires: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Bernard Arnault, and Mark Zuckerberg. This extreme level of wealth is a relatively recent phenomenon and reflects the concentration of immense economic power in the hands of a few individuals.
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Net Worth: The total assets owned by an individual, minus their liabilities. It's a key measure of an individual's wealth and financial standing.
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Gross Domestic Product (GDP): A measure of the economic performance of a country, representing the total value of all goods and services produced over a specific time period within a country's borders. In the article, Bezos' net worth is compared to the GDP of Hungary and Ukraine, emphasizing the magnitude of his wealth.
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International Monetary Fund (IMF): An international organization that provides financial cooperation and economic stability, offering data and analysis on global economic trends. The article references IMF data to highlight the comparison between Bezos' wealth and the GDP of certain countries.
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Technology Sector Boom: The article discusses the surge in wealth among the centibillionaires, particularly in the technology sector, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased reliance on technology, online shopping, and streaming services contributed to the rise in stock prices of companies founded or led by these individuals.
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Inequality: The article touches upon the growing wealth disparity, emphasizing the rise of centibillionaires as a concerning sign of economic inequality. The director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies, Chuck Collins, attributes this trend to decades of flat wages and concentrated wealth and power.
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Institute for Policy Studies: A think tank that conducts research and analysis on various social and economic issues. In this context, it provides insights into the collective wealth increase of billionaires during the pandemic and highlights the alarming wealth concentration at the very top.
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Philanthropy: Despite their immense wealth, some billionaires, such as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, are mentioned as having given away billions through foundations. This philanthropic activity is noted as a factor in the broader discussion on wealth and inequality.
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MacKenzie Scott: Bezos' ex-wife, who, despite a high-profile divorce and significant charitable donations, still holds a substantial net worth. The article suggests that Scott's wealth might eventually propel her into the centibillionaire club.
In summary, the article provides insights into the unprecedented wealth of centibillionaires, the economic disparities exacerbated by the pandemic, and the broader implications of extreme wealth concentration in a few hands.
