Crisis profiteers: Over 10 trillion dollars for the first time: Why the corona pandemic is making the super-rich even richer | message
• Total fortune of dollar billionaires exceeds $ 10 trillion for the first time
• Economic stimulus packages as growth drivers
• Donation sums also increase
The major Swiss bank UBS, together with the consulting firm PwC, has examined how the current pandemic has affected the assets of the world’s 2,189 billionaires. The result is quite revealing.
Thanks to economic stimulus packages, wealth is increasing
From a monetary point of view, the super-rich have not only survived the crisis unscathed, but are also emerging as big winners. By the end of July, their total assets had risen to $ 10.2 trillion, the equivalent of 8.7 trillion euros – a new record.
Among other things, the experts identified the numerous government measures as a reason for cushioning the consequences of the corona pandemic for the economy. The economic stimulus packages have ensured a recovery in the stock markets, which in the meantime even set new record highs in some cases after the corona-related slump in March. Tech stocks in particular led the recovery in the summer, the stocks that numerous dollar billionaires have in their custody and on which a large part of their wealth is based.
The involvement of the super-rich in the health sector, which has benefited in recent months from hopes for a vaccine and a drug to treat the coronavirus, among other things, was one reason why the wealth of the super-rich has recently grown faster than ever before.
Jeff Bezos becomes first $ 200 billion billionaire
The richest man in the world, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, has benefited particularly from developments on the stock markets. Because his company, of which he continues to be the main shareholder, was not only able to benefit from developments in the world with its online shopping platform, but also benefited from developments in this area with its growth area Amazon Web Services and the associated trend towards cloud use Year. At the end of July, Bezos became the first person to ever exceed the US $ 200 billion mark, and according to the Forbes Realtime wealth list, the richest man in the world is still worth US $ 185.6 billion.
Donations also at a record level
But many super-rich have not only increased their assets but also their willingness to donate. According to the study, the super-rich donate more than ever to charity. Recently, the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos announced a billion-dollar donation, Jeff Bezos himself wants to donate part of his billion-dollar fortune to the fight against climate change, and the 56-year-old recently founded a school.
Finanzen.net editorial team
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