INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The richest people on Earth lost $511 billion this year after record first-half gains were obliterated by a succession of bruising market
selloffs.
Global trade tensions and worries about a US recession dragged markets lower at year-end, leaving the 500 people on the Bloomberg
His fortune peaked at $168 billion in September, a $69 billion gain
It later tumbled $53 billion -- more than the market value of Delta Air Lines Inc
-- to leave him with $115 billion at year-end.
The Amazon.com Inc
founder had a better year than Mark Zuckerberg, who recorded the biggest loss since January, dropping $23 billion as Facebook Inc
careened from crisis to crisis
Overall, the 173 US billionaires on the list -- the largest cohort -- lost 5.9 per cent from their fortunes to leave them with $1.9
turmoil, Asia continued to mint new members of the three-comma club
The Bloomberg index uncovered 39 new members from the region in 2018, although that status proved short-lived for some
About 40 per cent had lost their 10-figure status as of Dec
7.
The Middle East had an even more turbulent year
March after 83 days in detention, lost $3.4 billion
His net worth has fallen by 60 per cent since its peak in 2014
One of the remaining Saudi captives, Mohammed Al Amoudi, managed to become richer during his year in detention, as the value of his Swedish
energy and property assets rose
The Saudi government confirmed this month that he was facing charges on graft and corruption and is awaiting trial
billion worse off than at the start of the year
largest mobile-phone operator, also suffered big losses
3G Capital co-founder Jorge Paulo Lemann saw his fortune drop the most among Latin American billionaires, losing $9.8 billion
The volatility caused by collapsing oil prices, a flare-up in tensions with Ukraine and tightening sanctions was partially offset by
ranking.
Still, 16 of the 25 Russian billionaires on the Bloomberg index saw their net worth fall in 2018
Aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, who remains under US sanctions, lost the most -- $5.7 billion -- and dropped out the Bloomberg ranking of
Timchenko, sanctioned in 2014, added 27 per cent to his net worth as shares of gas producer Novatek rose 40 per cent.
Sector SlumpThose
gains were the main reason why energy billionaires as a group had the best year, adding a collective $6 billion
All other industries were down, including a $75 billion decline for retail tycoons and a $79 billion drop for industrialists.
The number of
women on the list inched up by one to 66 as Denise Coates, the British founder and chief executive officer of online bookmaker Bet365 Group
Ltd., joined the ranking for the first time
She pocketed 220 million pounds ($282 million) in remuneration last year, one of the highest disclosed pay packages anywhere, after the
company reported record results.
