The Biggest Billionaire Winners And Losers Of 2020
The whole world must admit that the previous year has left an indelible mark on global consciousness, health, and welfare. It has been a daunting challenge individually for each and collectively for all of us. The statistics on the coronavirus pandemic became irrefutable proof of the baffling task the majority of countries faced, especially the USA and the UK. Numerous and continuous lockdowns led to widespread unemployment and consequently to economic decline. While small and medium-sized businesses were trying to keep their heads above water, the top five billionaires were lining their own pockets up to $310.5 billion altogether. If you are eager to find out who these big cheeses are, keep on reading the article.
The undeniable leader on the list of the biggest winners is Elon Musk. One of the most successful American business magnates, industrial designer, and engineer managed to increase Tesla stock sevenfold within last year. The numbers of vehicle production and delivery dramatically exceeded analyst expectations, and so investors worldwide showed significantly increased interest in Tesla’s advanced technologies. Space X, an American aerospace manufacturer, and space transportation services company, is also worth mentioning as one of Musk’s gold mines, which is equal to a $20 billion stake. Musk made a fortune of $136.9 billion worth net and proved to be the third wealthiest person in the world.
An American entrepreneur Jeff Bezos is perhaps most well-known as the founder and CEO of the Internet giant Amazon stands out from his competitors with an estimated worth net of $182.2 billion. The main reasons for his revenue growth are the lockdown and the need to go shopping at least online. People were trapped in their own homes for quite a while, and so Amazon became the best solution to get through the rough times of restrictions and survive in isolation. Last August Bezos became the first man in history with a net worth of over $200 billion, and so he rightfully deserves to be regarded as the world’s richest man.
A French billionaire businessman and art collector, Bernard Arnault is number two on the honor roll of Forbes billionaires with a net worth of $146.3 billion. Being a chairman and chief executive of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, he raised his capital by more than 30% within last year, regardless of the pandemic and long-drawn lockdown. In November 2019, LVMH was about to strike a deal to buy American jeweler Tiffany & Co for $16.2 billion. It was believed to be the biggest luxury brand acquisition ever, but Arnault put the deal on ice due to low sales volumes of luxury goods worldwide. Nevertheless, it did not prevent him from building up an enviable reputation as the second wealthiest man on Earth.
Last year turned out to be no less successful and profitable for a Chinese billionaire businessman, Zhong Shanshan. He managed to corner the market of China’s bottled water production. He founded and headed Nongfu Spring, a bottled water company, which capitalized its business on the poor quality of China’s tap water that is mostly undrinkable. Besides, he is the major shareholder of Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which is specializing in the mass production of a nasal spray vaccine for Covid-19. By the end of 2020, Shanshan became China’s water-bottled king and Asia’s new richest man, with an estimated net worth of $62.5 billion.
And last but not least, Dan Gilbert, an American billionaire businessman and investor, co-founder of one of the biggest online mortgage lenders in the US, Quicken Loans finalizes the list of the owners with the deepest pockets in 2020. Rocket Companies, which is the parent company of Quicken Loans and the largest home mortgage company in the USA, made a profit of more than $41 billion last year. Ultimately, Gilbert managed to maximize his profit to the net worth of $43.9 billion by owning the majority stake in the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
The outbreak of the pandemic and its consequences have irrevocably changed the world’s economy and so the Forbes’ ranking list. While the top five were making a profit in the past year, the next five billionaire entrepreneurs were rapidly losing their money and going broke. Check out who these biggest losers are and what has turned their businesses into a train wreck.
Carlos Slim Helu, a Mexican business magnate and investor with extensive holdings through his conglomerate Grupo Carso, has earned himself a place of honor among the greatest losers of 2020. His family’s business America Movil, the biggest telecom firm in Latin America, did not suffer significant losses last year, but due to the fall of the Mexican peso Helu’s fortune dropped to $5 billion. Nowadays he remains the richest man in Mexico with a net worth of $58.2 billion.
The preceding year of the world business crisis took a heavy toll on the gambling industry too. An American businessman and investor, Sheldon Adelson, who was the CEO and chairman of casino company Las Vegas Sands, faced the severe negative impacts of the crisis. Las Vegas Sands’s revenues went down to 82% in comparison with the previous year and so Adelson lost approximately $5 billion. Perhaps it was one of the reasons for his ultimate death at the beginning of 2021.
Sun Hongbin, a Chinese billionaire real estate developer, who is concurrently the founder, chairman, and majority owner of Sunac China Holdings, has also joined the ranks of the last year’s lame ducks. The Dalian Wanda Group’s theme park, which was bought in 2017, turned out to be a total failure in 2020. Sunac’s stock was down to 40% and resulted in a notable $4.8 billion drop with Sun’s total net worth of $8.1 billion.
Hui Ka Yan is the chairman and main shareholder of China Evergrande Group, the second-largest property developer by sales in China with a net worth of $27.7 billion, has not avoided the financial crisis and his money loss in the amount of $4.6 billion either. What is more, Evergrande has been in the red and its total debt amounts to $128 billion due to the high cost of land and building materials necessary for developing its new-energy vehicle startup. As a result, Evergrande’s stock dropped to 22% last year leaving much to be desired in the future.
Harold Hamm is the last on the list of the biggest losers in 2020. An American entrepreneur primarily involved in the oil and gas business with a total net worth of $5.6 billion almost went broke and lost $4.3 billion due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. Continental Resources, one of the nation’s biggest independent oil companies chaired by Hamm, deprived him of 43% of his possible profit. Although Continental Resources has partially recovered since last spring, it is still at a loss.
