Daily US Times: Billionaires have seen their fortunes hit record highs during the coronavirus pandemic, with top executives from technology and industry earning the most.
According to a report from Swiss bank UBS, the world’s richest saw their wealth climb 27.5% to $10.2trn (£7.9trn) from April to July this year.
That was up from the previous peak of $8.9trn at the end of 2017 and largely because of rising global share prices.
UBS said billionaires had done “extremely well” in the coronavirus crisis.
The report also said the number of billionaires had hit a new high of 2,189, up from 2,158 in 2017.
It comes as a World Bank report published on Wednesday showed extreme poverty is set to rise this year for the first time in more than two decades due to the global pandemic.
The biggest winners this year have been industrialists, whose wealth rose a staggering 44% in the three months to July.
UBS said: “Industrials benefited disproportionately as markets priced in a significant economic recovery [after lockdowns around the world].”
Tech billionaires have also had a good pandemic, seeing their wealth soar 41%, the report says. UBS report said this was “due to the corona-induced demand for their goods and services” and the social distancing sparked “digital businesses [and] compressing several years’ evolution into a few months”.
Healthcare billionaires also benefited as the crisis put medical device companies and drug makers in the spotlight.
The rise in fortunes reflects the generally strong performance of global stock markets since late March, though most countries are continuing to suffer sharp recessions.
Tesla founder Elon Musk and Amazon boss Jeff Bezos – both multi-billionaires – saw their wealth hit new highs this summer thanks to growth in the price of their companies’ stock.
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