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Commentary: Who will be the world’s first trillionaire?

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Louis Vuitton's Bernard Arnault overtakes Elon Musk as world's richest man

Reaching a net worth of US$1 trillion is a goal with little obvious personal benefit – and some political and reputational downsides, says Tyler Cowen for Bloomberg Opinion.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Virginia: When will the world have its first trillionaire? A recent report from Oxfam International predicts one within a decade, noting that the five wealthiest men in the world are 114 per cent richer today than they were in 2020.

That timeline strikes me as unrealistic. The path to becoming a trillionaire is very difficult – for both individual and macroeconomic reasons. Unless there is a big wave of hyperinflation, significant obstacles stand in the way of anyone trying to reach a trillion dollars in net wealth.

Some of it has to do with human nature. As a once-popular game show asked: Who wants to be a millionaire?

Add six more zeroes, and it is no longer a rhetorical question: A lot of billionaires seem less interested in making more money than in having some fun.

What Does It Take To Reach Trillionaire Status?

Jeff Bezos, for instance, at the time of this writing the world’s second-richest man with US$177 billion, is no longer running Amazon and seems to spend a lot of time in the gym. Not to take away anything from his talents, but he has no obvious path to a trillion dollars, even if his rocket company Blue Origin is a huge success.

Family life can also affect wealth accumulation. Bezos, Bill Gates and Elon Musk, among many others, are all divorced, which reduced their wealth. The Walmart fortune is now spread among the many heirs of founder Sam Walton.

Charitable giving and projects are another reason why wealth does not accumulate indefinitely. Gates very admirably has given away much of his wealth to the Gates Foundation, with more donations likely. That limits his ability to reach trillionaire status.

It’s worth noting that billionaires don’t give away money simply because they’re altruistic. If you have scores of billions of dollars, the social capital you get from giving it away is often worth more than the private consumption you are forgoing; in fact it is hard to spend that much money, much less spend it well, over the course of a lifetime. So for the super rich, giving away some of their money maximises well-being even if it lowers financial wealth.

Sometimes the projects aren’t charity per se – but they’re not purely financial, either. Musk, whose US$222 billion makes him the wealthiest person in the world, spent US$44 billion to buy Twitter, now X. He seems to want to own Twitter to influence political and cultural discourse. Now Twitter is worth much less than what Musk paid for it, making it that much harder for him to become a trillionaire.

So maybe there is not much obvious personal benefit to becoming a trillionaire. If anything, it might make a person a political target.

It Will Happen, Eventually

The desire to diversify is another limiting force. Once you have a considerable sum of money, it makes sense to spread your assets widely.

Gates, for example, sold a good deal of Microsoft stock early on, presumably with diversification as a motive. At the time it seemed like an obviously good idea. Yet today Gates would be much richer if he had held onto his Microsoft shares. By one estimate he would in fact be a trillionaire, but even that hypothetical required a very dramatic recent run-up in Microsoft shares.

No one gets to be a billionaire by fully diversifying, anyway. Rather, billionaires pour their hearts and souls into a small number of very particular enterprises, which then (might) earn very high rates of return.

But throughout the course of one’s life, it doesn’t make sense to keep on holding so much risk. It is better to cash in and enjoy some safety, in turn limiting your chance to become a trillionaire.

Finally, there are the macroeconomic factors. The fiscal position of many governments around the world implies further obstacles. In most wealthier countries, both debt and deficits are very high, and populations overall are ageing. Those fiscal pressures may well lead to higher taxes, and it hardly would be a surprise if some of the tax hikes fell on the very wealthy.

At any rate, there is no single identifiable person who seems on track to become a trillionaire within the next decade. Eventually it will happen – and a good share of the credit should go to the Federal Reserve, not necessarily the person who earned the money.

Source: Bloomberg/aj

 

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Meet World’s Richest Family Who live In $478m House, Own 700 Cars

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Meet World’s Richest Family Who live In $478m House, Own 700 Cars

According to The Jerusalem Post, the Nahyan royal family of the United Arab Emirates is a dominant corporate and political force in the Gulf area, as well as one of the world’s wealthiest families.

Their net worth is greater than the combined wealth of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the head of the Nahyan family, is the UAE’s President and the ruler of Abu Dhabi.

He has 18 brothers, 11 sisters, nine children, and eighteen grandchildren. All of the family members reside together in the “Qasr Al-Watan,” a massive edifice spanning 380,000 square meters and valued at $478 million.

The family’s real estate holdings comprises opulent houses and developments both in the UAE and abroad.

They own eight aircraft, including one Airbus A320-200 and three Boeing 787-9s. Sheikh Mohammed’s personal collection includes a $478 million Boeing 747 and a $176 million Boeing 787.

In addition, they have three of the world’s largest yachts.

Their car collection is nothing short of astounding. According to reports, their vehicles are split out over four museums in the UAE and Morocco. The family owns more than 700 cars, including Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

The family owns 81% of the City Football Group, which includes football clubs like Manchester City, Mumbai City, Melbourne City, and New York City.

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Want to work at Meta? Average salary package in Mark Zuckerberg’s company is…

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Want to work at Meta. Average salary package in Mark Zuckerberg's company is

Big companies often get highlighted for the huge compensations that they offer and the perks one gets while working for them. Meta’s average package is a whopping $379,000, according to a recent SEC filing. The company, which employs around 67,000 people, said that its median employee made over $379,000 in the year 2023.

Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the US Capitol, in Washington, US. (Reuters)

The average pay for a tech position falls between $35,000 to $120,000 depending on the role, but Meta’s pay is significantly higher than that. However, giants like Google and Amazon offer packages that go well above $300,000 for similar positions.

Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now!

Also, higher-level software engineers and researchers in Meta make more in base pay than product designers and user experience professionals in the company.

What Mark Zuckerberg said on working at Meta?

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this year that working at Meta is not easy even if it offers such lucrative packages. He said that the year 2024 will be the “year of efficiency” in the company as he expects employees to maximize output and productivity.

How much does Mark Zuckerberg earn?

In the year 2023, Mark Zuckerberg noted a total compensation of $24.4 million in ‘other compensation,’ and a base salary of $1. According to Fortune, this covered his costs related to his private jet. His wealth has increased by over $47 billion this year alone, despite receiving a nominal salary of $1 since 2013.

As per reports, the company’s net profit in the January to March period rose to $12.4 billion with total revenue up by 27 percent, at $36.5 billion.

The company wrote in a filing, “We believe that Mr. Zuckerberg’s role puts him in a unique position: he is synonymous with Meta and, as a result, negative sentiment regarding our company is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg. Mr. Zuckerberg is one of the most-recognized executives in the world, in large part as a result of the size of our user base and our continued exposure to global media, legislative, and regulatory attention.”

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Egypt’s Richest Man, Nassef Sawiris’ Wealth Surges by $410M in Just over a Week.

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Nassef Sawiris, chief executive officer of Orascom Construction, speaks during a television interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York, New York, on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. Photographer: Stephen Yang/Bloomberg News

Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, the richest individual in his home nation and one of Africa’s most powerful businessmen, has seen his fortune increase by $410 million in just nine days. This strengthens his position atop the continent’s wealth pyramid and moves him up the worldwide rich list.

Sawiris’ net worth increased from $8.27 billion on April 16 to $8.68 billion as reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which analyzes the fortunes of the world’s 500 wealthiest individuals. This works out to an amazing average daily gain of $45.56 million.

The wealth increase reverses prior losses and brings Sawiris’ year-to-date gains to $271 million. This is primarily due to the performance of his investments in the Dutch fertilizer firm OCI N.V. and the German apparel brand Adidas. Sawiris owns 38.8 percent of OCI and 6% of adidas.

Adidas’ share price has risen 11.51 percent since April 16, from €202.50 ($217.03) to €225.80 ($242). This spike pushed the company’s market capitalization beyond $40 billion, increasing Sawiris’ ownership by an estimated $266.63 million. His stake in OCI has also increased by $35 million, reaching $2.17 billion from $2.13 billion. Sawiris’ surprising leap propels him nine ranks up the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, from 300th to 291st.

Adidas’ recent increases have boosted market confidence in its 2023 success. Despite ending its partnership with Kanye West’s Yeezy brand in October 2022, Adidas topped expectations with a €268-million ($292 million) operating profit, exceeding projections by roughly €1 billion ($1.08 billion).

Adidas is looking for fresh collaborations following the Yeezy split. CEO Bjorn Gulden hinted about possible collaborations with pop culture luminaries, including Taylor Swift as a candidate.

Furthermore, a significant coup for the corporation is Liverpool Football Club’s forthcoming transfer from Nike to Adidas uniforms beginning in the 2025-2026 season, securing a lucrative five-year contract gained after Adidas outbid Nike and Puma.

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