With regard to the end of 2020, we review who are the five billionaires who have become the richest this year, led by the meteoric rise of Elon Musk
They were already billionaires … but their wealth grew even more in this difficult 2020 for many.
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Undoubtedly, the year that is now ending was difficult for many people, with more than 1.6 million deaths due to the covid-19 pandemic worldwide and an economic crisis that has led to the closure of many businesses and the loss of millions of jobs.
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However, the richest people on the planet have not fared so badly.
More than 60% of the world’s billionaires got richer in 2020 and the top five who got the richest saw their combined fortunes grow to $ 310.5 billion .
We tell you who they are.
1. Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla
Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, has added a whopping $ 140 billion to his estate in 2020
With this he reached a total of US $ 167,000 million of net worth last Monday, according to data from Bloomberg .
This was enough for Musk to climb several spots on the billionaires list and overtake Bill Gates to place second (after Jeff Bezos) in November.
Plus, according to Forbes , this is the biggest single-year earnings for a billionaire since the magazine began tracking the world’s highest fortunes.
Added to Tesla’s exceptional market performance thanks to record-breaking car sales, Musk’s other company, SpaceX, also thrived in a year in which it became the first privately held company to launch astronauts into space. .
2. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon
Jeff Bezos, who also owns the American newspaper The Washington Post , started 2020 as the richest person in the world and ends it the same way.
All he has done is add more than $ 72 billion to his net worth , thanks to the extraordinary increase in Amazon’s income from the increase in online sales due to the pandemic.
Bezos’ net worth even briefly surpassed the $ 200 billion mark a few months ago, down to $ 187 billion today.
Not well known for his philanthropic activities, this year he improved in that regard: in February he offered $ 10 billion to combat climate change and in November he donated about $ 800 million to environmental organizations.
His ex-wife Mackenzie Scott donated at least $ 5.8 billion to nonprofits this year.
3. Zhong Shanshan, founder of Nongfu Spring
Zhong Shanshan’s net worth has risen by $ 62.6 billion (currently over $ 69 billion), according to Bloomberg .
Zhong Shanshan is currently the richest man in China. (Getty Images).
Zhong Shanshan is currently the richest man in China. (Getty Images).
Zhong became China’s richest man in September after his bottled water company, Nongfu Spring, launched a successful Public Offering of Sale that raised more than $ 1.1 billion.
The company that he founded in 1996 and controls a fifth of the bottled water market in the Asian giant has a value of close to US $ 70,000 million.
The 66-year-old Zhong owns more than 84% of the company , with a stake valued at about $ 60 billion.
This helped him surpass other billionaires like Tencent’s Pony Ma and Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, to become the richest person in China in recent months.
Zhong also controls the vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy, which went public in April.
The company is developing a nasal spray vaccine for COVID-19 that was in phase II trials in November.
4. Bernard Arnault, owner of the LVMH group
Frenchman Bernard Arnault is the richest man in his country and Forbes magazine placed him at number 2 on its list of richest people, although the Bloomberg ranking places him at number 4.
Despite the drop in the sale of luxury goods, the conglomerate LVMH has maintained good figures in 2020. (Reuters).
Despite the drop in the sale of luxury goods, the conglomerate LVMH has maintained good figures in 2020. (Reuters).
Owner of the luxury goods group LVMH, Arnault ends the year with a net worth of about $ 146.3 billion .
Even during a difficult year for his conglomerate, Arnault’s fortune grew by more than 30% in 2020.
With the outbreak of the pandemic, LVMH temporarily abandoned its plan to acquire Tiffany & Co., but last October reached an agreement to acquire it for about US $ 15.8 billion, about US $ 400 million less than the original offer.
Luxury product sales continue to decline, but LVMH surprised investors recently by reporting that Louis Vuitton and Dior handbag sales remain strong, particularly in countries such as South Korea and China.
5. Dan Gilbert, President of Rocket Companies
At 58, Gilbert is the owner of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers team and a co-founder of the online mortgage company Quicken Loans.
Dan Gilbert is one of the richest sports team owners in America thanks to his majority stake in the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. (Getty Images).
Dan Gilbert is one of the richest sports team owners in America thanks to his majority stake in the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. (Getty Images).
According to Bloomberg data , his net worth increased by $ 28.1 billion in 2020 (to a total of $ 35.3 billion), thanks to the momentum that Quicken Loans’ parent company, Rocket Companies, launched a Public Offering in August. .
Gilbert owns about 80% of the Rocket Companies, a stake valued at more than $ 31 billion.
Gilbert’s striking net worth increase in 2020 (which grew sixfold in one year) is attributed to the Quicken Loans IPO.