The number of billionaires in the world has fallen in 2022 due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, tightening monetary policy, stock market falls and China’s economic slowdown, UBS said Thursday.
Switzerland’s largest bank, which ranks among the largest asset managers in the world, said there were $2,668 billionaires in March 2022 – 87 fewer than a year earlier.
It said they had a cumulative fortune of £10.4 trillion ($12.7 trillion) compared to £10.7 ($13.1 trillion) the year before, after tracking their wealth.
“However, total wealth and the number of billionaires has likely declined further since March 2022 due to asset price declines,” UBS said.
In 2022, 273 new billionaires were added, while 360 were lost.
“It is a time of shifting fortunes. Rapidly rising interest rates, pandemic reopenings and wars in Europe are fueling market uncertainty and volatility, with wealth being created and eroded in almost equal measure,” said the UBS Billionaire Ambitions report.
“Amidst the instability, some themes remain — especially the broad concept of smart innovators rising to the top.”
The sectors with the most billionaires were finance and investments (392) and technology (348).
The Asia-Pacific region’s billionaire population remained the largest, but fell by 59 to 1,084.
“China’s zero-Covid policy slowed growth after many years as the world’s fastest-growing major economy,” UBS said, as the number of Chinese billionaires fell from 626 to 540.
The number of billionaires in the United States rose from 724 to 735.
The number in Western Europe fell from 474 to 467; and in Eastern Europe from 154 to 127. The number in the Middle East and Africa dropped from 91 to 89.
Billionaires’ wealth had soared in 2021 thanks to ultra-loose monetary policies imposed to contain the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had led to a rise in stock markets, the report said.
By Net Worth:
1: Bernard Arnault and family – £152.6 billion ($187.2 billion)
2: Elon Musk – £150.8 billion ($185.0 billion)
3: Gautam Adani – £109bn ($133.7bn)
4: Jeff Bezos – £92.6bn ($113.6bn)
5: Warren Buffett – £86.6 billion ($106.2 billion)
6: Bill Gates – £86.3bn ($105.8bn)
7: Larry Ellison – £83.9bn ($102.9bn)
8: Mukesh Ambani – £75.1bn ($92.1bn)
9: Carlos Slim Helu & Family – £67.4bn ($82.6bn)
10: Larry Page – £66.5 ($81.5 billion)
Source: Forbes – The Real Time Billionaire’s List
