493 new billionaires despite pandemic

[intotheblack]

493 new billionaires to Forbes annual list

Approximately 1 new billionaire every 17 hours.  

The combined wealth is now up to $13 trillion as opposed to $8 trillion in 2020.

The US still has the most billionaires followed by China.

There will be some who manage to slip through the cracks and are unaccounted for so potentially many more than we know. 

A chunk of the new ones were down to working with some COVID related product (vaccines, test makers, protective wear) 

Jeff is still number 1 on the list for the 4th year running. 
 

https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by intotheblack

[vladorion]

Not because of the pandemic, but because of the lockdowns and social distancing.

[Epikur]

Quote

Tech billionaires are staying “very, very quiet” on proposals to tax their wealth

It is relatively easy for a billionaire to say they support higher taxes. More is on the line if they are asked to do something about it.

https://www.vox.com/recode/22372857/washington-state-wealth-tax-bill-gates-steve-ballmer-mackenzie-scott-jeff-bezos

[Rilles]

On 12/04/2021 at 1:11 PM, vladorion said:

Not because of the pandemic, but because of the lockdowns and social distancing.

[BadHippie]

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Not because of the pandemic, but because of the lockdowns and social distancing.

Yeah, I agree. We could smartly handle the pandemic, without fucking up the middle-class. Sweden is a good example, they have one of the lowest number of intensive-care beds, yet still manage without mandatory measures. Correct me if I am wrong. 

Germany has one of the highest number of intensive-care beds / population, yet we still struggle with authoritarian measures. Media is still telling us our hospitals are full, yet when I´ve been in the hospital in Winter, visiting my dad it was so empty it spooked me. Something seems fishy here...