Billionaires Transformed by COVID-19... Untact Company CEOs Entering One After Another

Forbes 2020 Billionaires Ranking Announced
Stock Surge in Online and Delivery Companies... Buffett and Trump Face 'Losses'
1st Place for 3 Consecutive Years: Bezos, Amazon CEO... Lee Kun-hee Ranked 75th

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has also changed the rankings of the world's wealthiest individuals. As companies experienced mixed fortunes amid the COVID-19 crisis and major countries' stock markets showed rollercoaster trends, leaders of 'untact' (contactless) companies made their way onto the billionaire list.

According to the list of global billionaires released by the U.S. business magazine Forbes on the 7th (local time), Eric Yuan, founder and CEO of the video conferencing platform Zoom, entered the global wealth rankings for the first time with assets worth $5.5 billion (approximately 6.7 trillion KRW). His wealth ranked 293rd worldwide. Due to the surge in demand for video conferencing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom's stock price doubled from January 3, when Forbes began its survey, to March 18. Yuan holds a 46% stake in Zoom. However, Zoom's stock price, which had risen further after the survey period, recently dropped significantly due to emerging security issues.

Larry Xiangdong Chen, developer of the Chinese online education company GSX TechEdu, and Byju Raveendran, founder of the Indian online education application Byju's, appeared on the list for the first time at 383rd (with assets of $4.5 billion) and 1196th (with $1.8 billion), respectively. Both companies saw a surge in users and stock prices following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Entrepreneurs in online gaming and delivery services also appeared on the list in large numbers. Since Forbes' survey period coincided with the spread of COVID-19, stock prices of untact-related companies soared, significantly increasing the assets of their CEOs. Dmitry Buchman and Igor Buchman, brothers from the Russian online gaming company Playrix, and Forrest Li of Singapore's Sea Limited were included on the billionaire list as their stock prices rose. Jitse Groen, founder and CEO of the Dutch food delivery company Takeaway.com, which operates in Europe and Israel, also became a billionaire. Takeaway.com, listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 2016, introduced a contactless delivery system in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

There were also individuals whose wealth decreased due to COVID-19, resulting in changes in their rankings. One such figure is Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, known as the 'investment genius.' Having ranked third last year, he swapped places with Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, and his family. Buffett's assets dropped significantly from $80.8 billion last year to $67.5 billion this year. Starting in 2016, he began purchasing large amounts of U.S. airline stocks, which plummeted in the first quarter due to the impact of COVID-19. Buffett sold some airline stocks, including Delta Air Lines, on April 1-2, reportedly incurring losses of about $5 billion.

U.S. President Donald Trump also reportedly lost $1 billion in assets due to the COVID-19 crisis. His assets, which were $3.1 billion on March 1, fell sharply to $2.1 billion by March 18. Forbes attributed this to a significant drop in the valuation of commercial real estate in New York and San Francisco, as well as damage to related businesses such as hotels and golf courses.

The latest Forbes billionaire list includes 2,095 billionaires worldwide with assets exceeding $1 billion. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, ranked first for the third consecutive year with assets of $113 billion, followed by Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (MS), with $98 billion. Among Koreans, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee ranked 75th with $14.1 billion, NXC CEO Kim Jung-ju ranked 241st with $6.3 billion, Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin ranked 253rd with $6.1 billion, and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong ranked 330th with $5 billion.