• Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, with a net worth of $219 billion, tops the latest Forbes Billionaires List. AFP
    Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, with a net worth of $219 billion, tops the latest Forbes Billionaires List. AFP
  • Jeff Bezos of Amazon was knocked off the top spot for the first time in four years. Getty
    Jeff Bezos of Amazon was knocked off the top spot for the first time in four years. Getty
  • Bernard Arnault, the head of French luxury goods group LVMH, stayed firm in third place. AFP
    Bernard Arnault, the head of French luxury goods group LVMH, stayed firm in third place. AFP
  • American businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates is the world's fourth richest person according to Forbes. AFP
    American businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates is the world's fourth richest person according to Forbes. AFP
  • Chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett completes the top five. AFP
    Chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett completes the top five. AFP
  • Larry Page, chief executive and co-founder of Alphabet, with a net worth of $111 billion, is sixth on the list. Reuters
    Larry Page, chief executive and co-founder of Alphabet, with a net worth of $111 billion, is sixth on the list. Reuters
  • Co-founder of Google/Alphabet Sergey Brin is seventh with $107 billion. Reuters
    Co-founder of Google/Alphabet Sergey Brin is seventh with $107 billion. Reuters
  • Businessman Larry Ellison's $106 billion puts him eighth on the Forbes list. Reuters
    Businessman Larry Ellison's $106 billion puts him eighth on the Forbes list. Reuters
  • American businessman Steve Ballmer is ranked ninth by Forbes. Getty Images
    American businessman Steve Ballmer is ranked ninth by Forbes. Getty Images
  • Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest person with $90.7 billion, completes the world's top 10. Reuters
    Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest person with $90.7 billion, completes the world's top 10. Reuters

Elon Musk declared world’s richest person as net worth of wealthy slips to $12.7tn


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The combined net worth of the world’s richest people slipped 3 per cent to $12.7 trillion over the past year, from a record $13.1tn in 2021, driven by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Covid-19 pandemic and volatile stock markets, with Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of Tesla topping the Forbes’ 2022 World Billionaires List.

There are 2,668 billionaires in the world, down from an all-time high of 2,755 last year, it said in the annual report, which used stock prices and exchange rates from March 11 to calculate the net worth of the world’s richest people.

“In all, 329 people fell off the billionaires list this year – the most since the 2009 financial crisis,” Forbes said on Tuesday.

Mr Musk, who was recently appointed to Twitter's board after emerging as the biggest single shareholder in the microblogging platform on Monday, topped the Forbes list for the first time with a net worth of $219 billion.

The billionaire, who owns more than 73.4 million shares in the social media platform valued at about $3bn, will “serve as a Class II director with a term expiring at the company’s 2024 annual meeting of stockholders”, Twitter said in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday.

In contrast to the Forbes' list, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index named Mr Musk the world’s richest person at the end of 2021 with a personal fortune of $273.5bn.

Mr Musk added $68bn to his net worth over the past year after a 33 per cent jump in the share price of his electric vehicle maker, Tesla, Forbes said.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos fell to number two for the first time in four years “due to a 3 per cent drop in Amazon stock and increased charitable giving, which wiped $6bn from his net worth”, it said.

French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault, who added $8bn to his fortune over the past year, remains the world’s third-richest person. Rounding out the top five are Bill Gates and Warren Buffett with personal fortunes of $129bn and $118bn, respectively.

There were 236 newcomers added to the billionaire ranks this year, including pop star Rihanna, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and venture capitalist Josh Kushner.

The US is home to the most billionaires on the planet with 735, 11 more than in 2021, Forbes said. China is second with 607 billionaires, followed by India (166), Germany (134) and Russia (83). India's Mukesh Ambani remains Asia’s wealthiest person and the 10th richest in the world with a fortune of $90.7bn.

Barbados, Bulgaria, Estonia and Uruguay each gained their first billionaires. Despite the volatile year, 1,050 billionaires are wealthier than they were a year ago, according to Forbes.

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Russia's military offensive in Ukraine and the sanctions that followed led the Moscow Exchange and the rouble to plummet, resulting in 34 fewer Russian billionaires on the list, Forbes said.

Meanwhile, 86 people under the age of 40 made the Forbes Billionaires List this year, including Australia's Melanie Perkins, 34, co-founder and chief executive of graphic design platform Canva, with a fortune of $6.5bn.

Even more impressive are the 12 billionaires under the age of 30, Forbes said.

“This includes the world’s youngest billionaire, German drugstore chain heir Kevin David Lehmann, 19, and newcomer Gary Wang, 28, the Bahamas-based American co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX – one of 19 billionaires to get rich from crypto and blockchain technology,” it said.

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the granddaughter of the founder of L'Oreal, is the world's richest woman with a net worth of $72.8bn.

Top 10 richest people and their net worth

  • Elon Musk: $219bn
  • Jeff Bezos: $171bn
  • Bernard Arnault: $158bn
  • Bill Gates: $129bn
  • Warren Buffett: $118bn
  • Larry Page: $111bn
  • Sergey Brin: $107bn
  • Larry Ellison: $106bn
  • Steve Ballmer: $91.4bn
  • Mukesh Ambani: $90.7bn
Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW

Stoke City v Tottenham

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Arsenal v Manchester City

Everton v Manchester United

All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.

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Sreesanth's India bowling career

Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40

ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):

Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Match will be shown on BeIN Sports

Major honours

ARSENAL

  • FA Cup - 2005

BARCELONA

  • La Liga - 2013
  • Copa del Rey - 2012
  • Fifa Club World Cup - 2011

CHELSEA

  • Premier League - 2015, 2017
  • FA Cup - 2018
  • League Cup - 2015

SPAIN

  • World Cup - 2010
  • European Championship - 2008, 2012
While you're here
Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

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Updated: April 11, 2022, 6:17 AM