Billionaires Report 2020

Total billionaire wealth reached USD 10.2 trillion at the end of July 2020, touching a new high after the year’s V-shaped rebound in asset prices. This level surpasses the previous peak of USD 8.9 trillion, reached at the end of 2017. There are now 2,189 billionaires, up from 2,158 in 2017.

Fortunes are polarizing as business innovators and disruptors deploy technology to be among the leaders of today’s economic revolution. During 2018, 2019 and the first volatile months of 2020, entrepreneurs in the tech, healthcare and industrials sectors pulled ahead. The COVID-19 storm accelerated the divergence.

Scientists, computer programmers and engineers are revolutionizing industries at a pace never seen before. Their sphere of activity is spreading from the tech and healthcare sectors to disrupt many parts of the economy. As they apply emerging technologies to drive change, some of them are becoming billionaires.

A small group of billionaires is pioneering innovation in philanthropy, while pursuing sustainability goals across their corporate and investment activities. Increasingly, they’re setting a benchmark for others by bringing their originality to philanthropy and introducing new objectives to the companies they’re associated with, as well as their investments.

To tackle the pandemic, billionaires have given more than ever before in a space of a few months. Some 209 billionaires have publicly committed a total of USD 7.2 billion, whether in financial donations, manufactured goods and equipment, or other commitments.

When the storm passes, a new generation of billionaire innovators looks set to play a critical role in repairing the damage. Using the growing repertoire of emerging technologies, tomorrow’s innovators will digitize, refresh and revolutionize the economy. Whether intentionally or not, this has the potential to help bridge financial, social and environmental deficits.