Wealth-Creation In A Pandemic

Covid-19 brought terrible suffering, economic pain, geopolitical tension—and the greatest acceleration of wealth in human history. Why this pandemic paradox could become a cause for celebration, not concern

- Randall Lane

On March 18, 2020, the United States registered its 150th coronavirus-related death while trying to gauge, along with most of the world, just what was happening. Major market indices fell 5 percent after jumping 6 percent the previous day. Spring breakers partied blithely in Florida while officials decided to close the border with Canada. And a statistical team at Forbes locked the numbers for our 34th annual ranking of the world’s billionaires, unwittingly creating a snapshot of global wealth at the precise moment the world lurched into its most disruptive 12 months since World War II.

Over the ensuing year, those 150 US deaths swelled to 550,000; some 3 million souls were lost worldwide. Tens of millions of jobs evaporated, along with hundreds of thousands of small businesses. Remote work went from exotic to standard. The suburbs went from dull to desired. The death of George Floyd triggered a reckoning concerning race and social justice. The presidential election tested democratic norms. Simultaneously, though, many individuals, industries, and investments thrived.

One year after that fortuitously timed snapshot, we repeated our March billionaires audit, taking the measure, at the point of the pyramid, of the past year’s seismic changes. The results defy hyperbole. Over the past 12 months, 493 people worldwide joined the Forbes list—a newly minted billionaire every 17 hours. Rising asset prices vaulted another 250 previous drop-offs back over the ten-digit mark. Amid widespread economic insecurity, precious few billionaires fared worse financially: Just 61 dropped off the list for reasons other than death, representing the lowest percentage of drop-offs for any year on record. All told