In March 2021, nearly every country in the world had more billionaires than they did at the outset of the pandemic in mid-March 2020. Amongst these new billionaires were 40 people who became new billionaires practically overnight solely from covid.
At the same time that these billionaires were getting richer, hundreds of millions were getting poorer and hundreds of millions more were driven to extreme poverty.
In February 2021, the World Economic Forum reported that according to the International Labour Organisation, 114 million jobs were lost in 2020 and others saw their working hours reduced due to covid restrictions. “The ongoing crisis has disrupted labour markets around the world at an unprecedented scale.”
Since the covid pandemic began, Oxfam reported, vulnerable communities around the world have been sending a clear, urgent and repeated message: “Hunger may kill us before coronavirus.” Oxfam noted it was the greatest rise in inequality:
More than a year and a half since the coronavirus pandemic was declared, the economic decline caused by lockdowns and closures of borders, businesses, and markets, has pushed tens of millions more people into hunger especially the most disadvantaged. Mass unemployment and severely disrupted food production have led to a 40% surge in global food prices – the highest rise in over a decade. More than 40 million people experienced extreme levels hunger primarily due to economic shocks largely caused by the pandemic. This is a near 70 per cent increase over the previous year.
The pandemic has also laid bare the greatest rise of inequality since records began. The estimated number of people living in extreme poverty is projected to reach 745 million by the end of 2021, an increase of 100 million since the pandemic started.
Meanwhile, the rich continued to get richer. The wealth of the 10 richest people … increased by $413 billion last year, enough to cover the entire UN humanitarian appeal for 2021 more than 11 times over.
Meet the 40 New Billionaires Who Got Rich “Fighting” Covid
On 6 April 2021, Forbes published an article ‘Meet The 40 New Billionaires Who Got Rich Fighting Covid-19’ which listed 40 new billionaires who got rich from covid in 2020. The following are extracts from the article
Shortly after the World Health Organisation declared covid-19 a global pandemic on 11 March 2020, markets collapsed and economies around the world plunged into recession.
At the same time, hundreds of billionaires fell from the ranks of Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list.
One year later, things couldn’t be more different: a record 493 new billionaires joined the list. Among those newcomers were at least 40 new entrants who drew their fortunes from companies involved in “fighting” covid.
Read More: Never forget: The people who became billionaires from covid
