The big boost to the fortunes of tech and healthcare billionaires during the coronavirus pandemic may be the start of a more permanent trend.
The impact of Covid-19 could act as a catalyst to create greater opportunities for those offering digital solutions or other technologies, while the wealth of those in older industries may suffer in turn, UBS Group AG and PricewaterhouseCoopers said. Wednesday in a report.
“Those who are the innovators and the disruptors, the architects of creative destruction in the economy, are still increasing their wealth,” found the 2020 Billionaires Insights report.
Despite the global economic impact, the world’s 500 richest people are 813 billion richer now than they were at the beginning of the year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The total wealth of billionaires rose to a new high of $ 10.2 trillion in July, up from $ 8.9 trillion at the end of 2017, according to the report’s findings. The heavy lifting came from the technology and healthcare sectors, where fortunes rose 43% and 50%, respectively. By comparison, net worth among those in entertainment, supplies, real estate, and even finance grew 10% or less.
While the United States is the richest country ($ 3.6 trillion), Asia Pacific boasts 831 billionaires, more than any other region and accounts for 38% of the world’s population of billionaires. The combined fortunes of the super-rich rose 36% to $ 3.3 trillion between the beginning of April and July, adding 221 new billionaires, of whom 91% were women, the researchers said at a news conference.
The post-Covid world will be “more indebted, more digital and less global,” said Maximilian Kunkel, chief investment officer for UBS’s global family office unit.
The growth in total wealth was accompanied by an increase in philanthropic efforts. Donors are increasingly focusing on tangible results, such as reducing the incidents of a particular disease, rather than just the amount of cash donated.
The results cover more than 2,000 billionaires in 43 markets, accounting for 98% of billionaires’ wealth, UBS and PwC said. The researchers also conducted around 60 interviews with the ultra-rich.
The rise in net worth among tech entrepreneurs this year (Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com Inc. and Elon Musk of Tesla Inc. added more than $ 60 billion to their net worth in 2020, according to the Bloomberg index) led to a increased scrutiny as millions of Americans lost their jobs amid a recessionary economy. Meanwhile, a panel in the US House of Representatives proposed a series of far-reaching antitrust reforms to curb the power of the tech giants after a 16-month antitrust investigation found that companies are abusing their dominance. .
But these rich people may be the ones to help lead the recovery.
“As the storm passes, a new generation of entrepreneurs is likely to digitize, refresh and revolutionize the economy,” the report concluded.
