The world’s richest got $1.6-trillion richer in 2021
The world’s billionaires added a staggering $1.6 trillion to their collective wealth in 2021. We look at the world’s richest.
The world’s richest have been busy in 2021, adding more than $1.6trillion to their collective wealth. Despite the ongoing pandemic and the global economy in recovery, the world’s billionaires have only gotten richer.
Where some might be struggling to survive in these trying times, the elite 1% have been thriving.
Today, we look at the world’s richest people and countries.
Momentous year for the world’s richest
The world’s wealthiest individuals prove you can cash in on the pandemic; the 2,600 billionaires around the globe added $1.6 trillion to their collective pockets (up from $1.9 trillion in 2020). Their wealth has been pushed by the S&P 500 increasing 21% and the Nasdaq by 50% in 2021.
According to Forbes, the world’s billionaires are worth $13.6 trillion, up from $12 trillion last year. For scale, China, the world’s second-largest economy, has a GDP of $12.238 trillion.
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World’s richest people: Net worth, country, and sector
- Elon Musk, $278.4B, United States, Tesla, SpaceX, Automotive
- Jeff Bezos,$202.3B, United States, Amazon, Technology
- Bernard Arnault & family, $193.2B, France,LVMH, Fashion& Retail
- Bill Gates,$138.5B, United States, Microsoft, Technology
- Mark Zuckerberg $126.4B, United States, Facebook, Technology
The clear winner in the world of the wealthy is Elon Musk, the world’s richest person. He started 2021 with a net worth of $156 billion and is now worth an estimated $278 billion. This is in part to a great year for Tesla and SpaceX’s voyages to the stars. In November 2021, Musk became the first person to cross the $300 billion mark. Musk is followed by former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ($202.3B) who stepped down in 2021.
Billionaire gaining wealth
The USA leads the way with its domestic billionaires gaining an incredible $945 billion for a total of $5 trillion in 2021. Indian billionaires have been cashing in during 2021, adding $210 billion to their collective coffers for a total of $730 billion.
Billionaires by country: Wealth added and total in 2021
United States – $945 billion (+23%) – $5 trillion
India – $210 billion (+41%) – $730 billion
Russia – $145 billion (+30%) – $630 billion
China – $80 billion (+4%) – $2.3 trillion
France – $70 billion (+14%) – $580 billion
Germany – $45 billion (+8%) – $650 billion
Canada – $40 billion (+20%) – $240 billion
Australia – $25 billion (+15%) – $190 billion
Switzerland – $25 billion (+19%) – $160 billion
Italy – $20 billion (+12%) – $210 billion
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More millionaires than ever
Lower down on the rung of wealth are millionaires and there are more individuals with six-figure assets than ever before. A Credit Suisse report details that the USA added a staggering 1.7 million individuals to its already huge pool of millionaires in 2020. The USA is followed by Germany (633,000) and Australia (392,000). Despite producing individuals on the World’s Richest list, millionaires remained uncommon in India, Indonesia, and Russia.
Number of millionaires added by country in 2020:
- USA +1,730,000
- Germany +633,000
- Australia +392,000
- Japan +390,000
- France +309,000
- UK +258,000
- China +257,000
- Canada +246,000
- The Netherlands +214,000
- Italy +187,000
What is going to happen in 2022?
Much of the wealth generation for these elites will depend as always on stock market performance globally. The biggest tech companies in the world (Facebook, Amazon, Tesla, Apple, and Google) started 2021 with impressive results but by the end of the year have dropped. What we do know is that even during the worst the pandemic has thrown at the market, the world’s wealthiest continue to grow their considerable funds.
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