Bloomberg Billionaires Index also sees return of Bill Gates to the top slot
The richest Canadians have added billions of dollars to their wealth in 2019.
The latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index data (at Nov. 18) shows that top-ranked Canadian-Chinese Joseph Tsai saw his net worth gain by $2.44 billion in the year to date, making the co-founder and executive vice-chairman of the Alibaba Group the 128th wealthiest in the world with an $11.2 billion fortune.
Thomson Reuters’ controlling shareholder Sherry Brydson has seen her wealth grow by $2.78 billion to $9.65 billion in 2019. That makes her the 159th richest person in the world.
And George Weston Ltd.’s emeritus chairman Galen Weston has added $2.37 billion to his wealth. He is the 171st richest in the world with a $9.17 billion fortune.
Energy tycoon Arthur Irving also saw a multi-billion-dollar rise in his net worth; up $2.12 billion year-to-date to make him the 224th richest in the world with $7.28 billion.
Gates beats Bezos
For the first time in around 2 years, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has regained the title of richest person in the world.
He surpassed Amazon and Washington Post entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, who saw his fortune slump by $16.2 billion year-to-date, leaving him with $109 billion.
Gates, meanwhile, added $19.5 billion to his wealth, taking his net worth to $110 billion. He holds a 1% stake in Microsoft with the firm’s stock jumping 48% this year.
He has multiple investments through his family office, Cascade.
Gates spends much of his time on philanthropic projects with his wife Melinda. The couple, along with Warren Buffett founded The Giving Pledge in 2010, each committing to giving away at least half their fortune during their lifetime.
Earlier this year, 19 new names joined the 204-strong list of wealthy people signing the pledge, including Canadian couple John and Marcy McCall MacBain.
Only one other, luxury goods supremo Bernard Arnault, has a net worth above $100bn. He is in third place in the Bloomberg rankings with $103 billion having seen his fortune rise by a staggering $34.1 billion year-to-date.
Warren Buffett ($86.6 billion) and Mark Zuckerberg ($74.5 billion) complete the top 5.
US billionaires face hefty hikes in the amount of tax they would pay, should the next president be Democrat Elizabeth Warren who wants to take a far higher share.
Gates recently spoke about taxation, noting that he has already paid $10 billion in taxes.
"If I’d had to pay $20 billion, it’s fine," he said. But "when you say I should pay $100 billion, then I’m starting to do a little math about what I have left over.”
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates overtook Amazon’s Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest person https://t.co/Ubyz0IxYFY
— Bloomberg Wealth (@wealth) November 16, 2019
