Billionaires get richer during the pandemic

Bloomberg: Billionaires own 3.5 percent of the world's wealth This is stated in a report on global inequality, prepared by a group of economists, writes Bloomberg.

The study says there are 2,755 billionaires globally in 2021 who own 3.5 percent of the world's wealth – two percent more than before the pandemic in early 2020. The combined fortune of billionaires is $ 13.1 trillion. In the pandemic, they became even richer, accumulating $ 4.1 trillion. “The coronavirus crisis has exacerbated the inequality between the very rich and the rest of the population,” said co-author Lucas Chancel.

In addition, according to the report, there is a group of 520,000 people worldwide with a fortune of at least $ 19 million … They hold 11 percent of the world's wealth, up from 10 percent last year.

Experts noted the greatest inequality in Russia and Central Asia – the number of the rich in the total share of capital is 45.9 percent. The lowest inequality is found in Europe (25.2 percent). This is followed by East Asia (30 percent) and South and Southeast Asia (34.3 percent).

The authors of the report noted some regional peculiarities. For example, Latin America and the Middle East are leading in the uneven distribution of income – more than 75 percent of wealth is in the hands of the richest 10 percent. This is followed by Russia and the countries of Black Africa (south of the Sahara). Interestingly, the richest people have a more negative impact on the environment. In the United States, 10 percent of the wealthy emit an average of 73 tons of carbon dioxide per person per year, while the poorest people emit less than 10 tons.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the richest person in the world is the founder of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk with a fortune of $ 267 billion. The second line of the rating is occupied by the head of Amazon Jeff Bezos (197 billion), the third is the CEO of the French group of companies LVMH Bernard Arnault (162 billion).

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