The world’s 400 richest people lost almost $194b this week as world stock markets began the year with a shudder on poor economic data in China and falling oil prices.
Forty-seven billionaires lost $1b or more during the worst week for US stocks since 2011, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The combined drop was almost seven times the $29b lost in the first five trading days of 2015. The 400 people on the index had a combined $3.7 trillion at the end of the week, compared with more than $4 trillion a year ago.
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, the best-performing billionaire in 2015, lost the most, his fortune dropping $5.9b this week as shares of the world’s largest online retailer fell more than 10%. Bezos is the world’s fourth-richest person with $53.7b and more than doubled his net worth in 2015 as investors cheered profits at Amazon.
The world’s richest person, Bill Gates, fell $4.5b to $79.2b, while Spain’s Amancio Ortega, the second-richest, dropped $3.4b to $69.5b.
