World’s Richest People Gained $237 Billion in 2016, Says Report

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World’s Richest People Gained $237 Billion in 2016, Says Report
(AP/Getty Images)
Epoch Newsroom
12/28/2016
Updated:
12/28/2016

The world’s richest people got even richer in 2016, according to a Bloomberg analysis on Tuesday.

The 200 wealthiest people on the planet collectively made $237 billion throughout the year and have an amassed $4.4 trillion through the end of trading on Dec. 27, 2016, the report stated. The rise represents an increase of about 5.7 percent.

Warren Buffett, the super-investor head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., made $11.8 billion during the year due to gains from financial and airline stocks. He’s now the second richest person in the world following Bill Gates.

“In general, clients rode through the volatility,” said Simon Smiles, chief investment officer with UBS Wealth Management—which serves ultra-rich clients—according to Bloomberg News.

“2016 ended up being a spectacular year for risk assets. Pretty remarkable given the start of the year,” he said.

Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, added about $10 billion, and he’s now worth $91.5 billion for the year’s end, making him still by far the richest person in the world.

After that was oil company owner Harold Hamm, who more than doubled his fortune to $15.3 billion.

Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos added $7.5 billion to his net worth this year, ending with $67.2 billion.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg added some $5.4 billion to his net worth, ending up with $51.2 billion.

France’s Bernard Arnault added $7.1 billion, making him worth around $38.9 billion, the report added.

These are the current top 15 richest people in the world:

  1. Bill Gates (American) - $91.5 billion.
  2. Warren Buffett (American) - $74.1 billion.
  3. Amancio Ortego (Spanish) - $71.2 billion.
  4. Jeff Bezos (American) - $67.2 billion.
  5. Mark Zuckerberg (American) - $51.2 billion.
  6. Carlos Slim (Mexican) - $49.2 billion.
  7. Charles Koch (American) - $46 billion.
  8. David Koch (American) - $46 billion.
  9. Larry Ellison (American) - $41.9 billion.
  10. Larry Page (American) - $40.7 billion.
  11. Sergey Brin (American) - $39.9 billion.
  12. Ingvar Kamprad (Swedish) - $39.6 billion.
  13. Bernard Arnault (French) - $38.9 billion.
  14. Liliane Bettencourt (French) - $35.8 billion.
  15. Rob Walton (American) - $34.7 billion.