World's richest lose $194 bln in first trading week of 2016

REUTERS Forty-seven billionaires lost $1 billion or more during the worst week for U.S. stocks since 2011, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The combined drop was almost seven times the $29 billion lost in the first five trading days of 2015. The 400 people on the index had a combined $3.7 trillion at the end of the week, compared with more than $4 trillion a year ago, according to the report. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, the best-performing billionaire in 2015, lost the most, his fortune dropping $5.9 billion this week as shares of the world&#39;s largest online retailer fell more than 10 percent. The world&#39;s richest person, Bill Gates, fell $4.5 billion to $79.2 billion, while Spain&#39;s Amancio Ortega, the second-richest, dropped $3.4 billion to $69.5 billion, Bloomberg said. The combined loss among the billionaires represents a 4.9 percent dip in their total wealth, according to the index, a slightly better performance than world equity markets so far this year. There were 11 billionaires among the 400 whose fortunes rose this week, including the five heirs to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The combined net worth of the 400 people on the index is $3.7 trillion, about equal to the gross domestic product of Germany.

World's richest lose $194 bln in first trading week of 2016

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