World’s 500 Richest People Gained $1.2 Trillion In 2019

Bloomberg News reports:

In 2019, the world’s richest 500 people saw their collective net worth jump by 25 percent or $1.2 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index published Friday.

Combined, the collective net worth of the world’s 500 wealthiest individuals totaled $5.9 trillion. American billionaires alone added $500 billion to their wealth, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gaining $27.3 billion and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates adding $22.7 billion.

Just 52 people on the list saw their fortunes decline in 2019. One of those billionaires is Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, whose worth dropped by $9 billion, though the decline is largely due to his divorce settlement, and Bezos still ends 2019 as the world’s richest person.