The World Added 412 Billionaires in 2020, Bringing the Total to 3,288

The world added 412 billionaires last year, bringing the total to a record 3,288, despite the disruption caused by Covid-19, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2021 released Tuesday.

The billionaires’ combined wealth rose 32% year over year to US$14.7 trillion, a sum that falls between the GDP of the world’s two biggest economies, the U.S. (with US$19.5 trillion) and China (with $12.2 trillion).

“A stock market boom, driven partly by quantitative easing, and flurry of new listings have minted eight new dollar billionaires a week for the past year,” Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher, said in a statement. “The world has never seen this much wealth created in just one year, much more than perhaps could have been expected for a year so badly disrupted by Covid-19.”

Three individuals added more than $50 billion in a single year, led by Tesla’s Elon Musk who added US$151 billion and climbed to the top spot of the Hurun Global Rich List with a net worth of US$197 billion. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos dropped to the second place, despite his wealth growing US$50 billion last year to a total of US$189 billion.

Colin Zheng Huang of Pinduoduo, China’s e-commerce giant, also saw his net worth grow more than $50 billion to US$69 billion, earning him the title of 19th richest billionaire in the world.

China jumped way ahead of the U.S. with 1,058 billionaires, up 259 from a year ago. The U.S. added 70 billionaires to take the total to 696 billionaires, according to the report, which calculates the billionaires’ wealth based on market data as of Jan. 15.

Other key findings in the report include:

Five people have more than US$100 billion, including Musk, Bezos, LVMH’s Bernard Arnault (US$114 billion), Bill Gates (US$110 billion), and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (US$101 billion);
California-based Austin Russell of car sensor maker Luminar Technologies was the youngest self-made billionaire, at 25 years old, with US$3.5 billion;
Beijing had the largest number of billionaires, with 145; Shanghai (113) overtook New York (112) as the runner-up. Six of the top 10 cities with the highest concentration of billionaires were in China;
Healthcare and real estate tied as the main source of wealth for the world’s billionaires, each accounting for 8.7% of total billionaire wealth;
There were 231 self-made female billionaires, an increase of 51 from a year ago. China dominated with 69% of the world’s self-made women billionaires.

Last year saw a net addition of 17 cryptocurrency billionaires, who derived their wealth from holding currency tokens. Blockchain also had 17 billionaires, whose wealth was predominantly from crypto exchanges, according to the report.

“We are currently right in the heart of a new industrial revolution, with the ABCDEs—that is AI, blockchain, cloud, data, and e-commerce—creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs and leading to a concentration of wealth and economic power on a scale never seen before,” Hoogewerf said in the report.

When people talk about making a seachange, chances are this is the kind of property on the NSW South Coast that they have in mind.

Open for inspection for the first time this Saturday, 24 Point Street Bulli offers rare absolute beachfront, with never-to-be-built-out north facing views of the ocean. Located on the tip of Sandon Point, this two-storey property is a surfer’s dream with one of Australia’s most iconic surf breaks just beyond the back wall.

On the lower floor at street level, there are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, including a family bathroom and an ensuite in the master suite. A fourth bedroom is on the upper floor, along with the main living area, and is serviced by its own bathroom.

While this would make a spectacular holiday home, it is well equipped for day-to-day living, with a spacious gourmet kitchen and butler’s pantry set into the articulated open plan living area on the first floor. A separate media room to the street side of the property on this level provides additional living space.

Every aspect of this property has been considered to take in the light and views, with high ceilings internally and spacious, north facing decks on both levels to take in views of rolling waves. If the pull of the ocean is irresistible, it’s just a 100m walk to feel the sand between your toes.

The house is complemented by a Mediterranean, coastal-style garden, while the garage has room for a workshop and two car spaces.

An easy walk to Bulli village, the property is a 20 minute drive from the major hub of Wollongong and just over an hour to Sydney.

Open: Saturday August 6 2pm-3pm Auction: Saturday September 3 Price guide: N/A but expected to exceed $5.3m paid in March for 1 Alroy Street

Contact: McGrath Thirroul – Vanessa Denison-Pender, 0488 443 174

The World Added 412 Billionaires in 2020, Bringing the Total to 3,288

The billionaires’ combined wealth rose 32% year over year.