Those on the Bloomberg Billionaires’ List Got Richer Despite Trump
The rich are only getting richer. Many voters are finding politicians’ responses to growing wealth gaps inadequate. Meanwhile, the usual suspects, those who live and breathe “the system,” have added to their net worth. Billionaires got richer according to the “Bloomberg Billionaires Index 2016.”
Yet, the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president was supposed to hurt them. Trump’s election was supposed to have caused economic collapse, or a market crash at the very least.
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The world’s billionaires will end 2016 having topped up their financial worth to the tune of $237.0 billion. (Source: “The World’s Richest Made $237 Billion This Year,” Bloomberg, December 28, 2016.)
Many of the gains have come from some key events in 2016 and the “opposite effect.” The Bloomberg Billionaires Club has much gratitude for Trump. So much for the market-crash predictions.
The Brexit, the U.S. presidential election, and the Italian constitutional referendum were supposed to have produced market disasters. All three still have a chance to produce negative effects in 2017, but, as far as 2016 goes, the markets have responded in a most bullish way to events that were supposed to have crashed the markets.
The Bloomberg Billionaires, the world’s richest people, closed the year with some $4.4 trillion in assets, as of December 27. That’s 5.7% higher than in 2015. Overall, these top investors managed to float through volatility, beating it. High risks proved to be profitable for a few savvy market players. (Source: Ibid.).
Clinton Voter Warren Buffett Took Home a Few More Billions Thanks to Trump
Nobody was surprised to find out that, as ever, Warren Buffett led the pack of winning billionaires. Buffett added some $11.8 billion to his already notable fortune ($74.0 billion, give or take a million). Buffett benefited considerably from Trump’s win and the resulting Trump rally over the past two months.
Sadly for Buffett, who founded Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B), he is not the world’s richest individual. That honor belongs to Bill Gates, the former CEO of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Still, on the day before the U.S. election, which Buffett hoped Hillary Clinton would win, Buffett was the world’s fourth-richest person. (Source: “Warren Buffett Becomes World’s Second Richest Person After Nearly $8 Billion Surge In His Fortune Since Election Day,” Forbes, December 9, 2016.)
Trump’s election has boosted defense and aerospace stocks. It has also given a boost to banks and pharmaceuticals. So rich has Buffett become that he donated some $2.9 billion alone as of last July.
Overall, the largest individual gains were in the United States. Trump, who has promised a mix of deregulation and public investment policies (that many observers say are impossible), has fueled the rally. Hedge fund guru Ray Dalio said Trump could liberate the “animal spirit” of capitalism and lead the financial markets even higher. (Source: “Forget Dow 20,000: Billionaire Ray Dalio Says Animal Spirits Under Donald Trump Just Getting Started,” Forbes, December 20, 2016.)
Not everyone benefited from the Trump effect, however. Some U.S. billionaires, even those from Clinton-supporting Silicon Valley, added to their wealth. Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), for example, added some $7.5 billion to his assets. That’s not great, considering the year before he doubled his net worth.
Amancio Ortega, boss of the Zara fashion empire, lost $1.7 billion in 2016. Don’t shed too many tears for him, though. He can still ponder how to spend the $71.2 billion he still has. Outside of the U.S., however, there has been no Trump effect. In China, Trump has hurt. Wang Jianlin, the second-richest Chinese tycoon, lost $5.8 billion.
