- Amazon's Jeff Bezos, last year's biggest winner, lost the most
- Number of billionaires who shed more than $1 billion: 47
Forty-seven billionaires lost $1 billion or more during the worst week for U.S. stocks since 2011, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The combined drop was almost seven times the $29 billion lost in the first five trading days of 2015. The 400 people on the index had a combined $3.7 trillion at the end of the week, compared with more than $4 trillion a year ago.
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, the best-performing billionaire in 2015, lost the most, his fortune dropping $5.9 billion this week as shares of the world’s largest online retailer fell more than 10 percent. Bezos is the world’s fourth-richest person with $53.7 billion and more than doubled his net worth in 2015 as investors cheered profits at Amazon.
The world’s richest person, Bill Gates, fell $4.5 billion to $79.2 billion, while Spain’s Amancio Ortega, the second-richest, dropped $3.4 billion to $69.5 billion.
Billionaire | YTD Drop | Net Worth | Percentage Change |
Jeff Bezos | -$5.9 billion | $53.7 billion | -9.9% |
Carlos Slim | -$5.7 billion | $46.6 billion | -10.8% |
Bill Gates | -$4.5 billion | $79.2 billion | -5.4% |
Wang Jianlin | -$4 billion | $32.4 billion | -11.1% |
Amancio Ortega | -$3.4 billion | $69.5 billion | -4.7% |
There were 11 billionaires among the 400 whose fortunes rose this week, including the five heirs to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The five Waltons added a combined $2.5 billion as Wal-Mart gained a little over $2 a share. Jim Walton, son of company founder Sam Walton, had the biggest gain, a $759 million increase.
The combined net worth of the 400 people on the index is $3.7 trillion, about equal to the gross domestic product of Germany.