REUTERS
The world's 400 richest people lost almost $194 billion during the first trading week of 2016 amid weak economic statistics of China, falling oil prices and the largest collapse of the U.S. stock market, Bloomberg reported.
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's largest online retailer fell more than 10 percent. The world's richest person, Bill Gates, fell $4.5 billion to $79.2 billion, while Spain'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.