The 500 richest people in the world collectively raked in an extra $1.2 trillion in 2019 alone.
The affluent bunch now have a combined wealth of $5.9 trillion – an increase of almost a quarter since last year.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is ending the decade as the richest person on earth with a total net worth of $116 billion, even after he lost money in his divorce from his wife of 23 years, MacKenzie, this summer.
MacKenzie walked away with a quarter of her and Bezos’s combined Amazon shares, worth an estimated $36 billion, though I’m sure the recent influx of online shoppers turning to Amazon for their Christmas presents helped Bezos earn back at least a little of what he’d lost.
Not that he would have been struggling without it, that is. He still had a good few billion dollars to fall back on.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates came in second on the list of the world’s richest people, which was compiled by Bloomberg’s Billionaire’s Index.
Check out the top 10 list here:
Gates’ wealth increased by $22.7 billion this year, bringing his total net worth to $113 billion and beating his next closest competitor, French billionaire Bernard Arnault, by $7 billion.
Though Arnault came third in the list, he benefitted most over the past 12 months by bringing in an additional $36.5 billion, increasing his total fortune to $106 billion.
Entrepreneur Kylie Jenner also made it into the top 500 after becoming the youngest self-made billionaire this year through her make-up and beauty line.
The 22-year-old raked in $3.8 million through Instagram alone in 2019, though her earning through the platform didn’t even come close to sister Kendall, who earned the title of the highest paid female Instagram personality in 2019 after bringing in a staggering $15.9 million.
Joining Bezos, Gates and Arnault in the top five highest earners was Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Though a lot of social media users have dropped Facebook for other social media platforms, Zuckerberg still managed to earn an extra $27.3 billion this year.
There’s no denying the wealthy bunch could spare a few dollars, so on the off chance any of them have taken time out of counting their cash to read this article, hopefully they’ll feel inclined to share some of their income with the world.
I mean, really, who needs $1 billion dollars anyway?
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.