As stock markets shook off economic, social and political divisions this year, they reached record high, and the world’s richest scored big. The richest people on earth became $1 trillion richer in 2017, more than four times last year’s gain. The 23 percent increase on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — a daily ranking of the world’s 500 richest people — compares with an almost 20 percent increase for both the MSCI World Index and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, writes Bloomberg. Jeff Bezos gained the most this year. The Amazon.com Inc founder added $34.2 billion to his worth, which knocked Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates out of his spot as the world’s richest person in October, a spot he had held since May 2013. Bezos’s net worth is $99.6 billion, while Gates’s is $91.3 billion. By the end of the day Dec. 26, the 500 billionaires controlled $5.3 trillion, up form $4.4 trillion on Dec. 27. The 38 Chinese billionaires on the Bloomberg index added $177 billion in 2017, a 65 percent gain. The U.S. had the largest presence on the index. One hundred and fifty-nine billionaires added $315 billion, which is an 18 percent gain. That gives them a collective net worth of $2 trillion. The 57 technology billionaires on the index added $262 billion, a 35 percent increase that was the most of any sector on the ranking.
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