Biggest Winners and Losers in Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index

When it comes to naming the richest of the rich, Forbes yearly report has been at the top of the game, if not the only game in town. Today, Bloomberg has not only entered the game but also changed it with their Billionaires Index. The system ranks billionaires from across the world on a daily, not yearly, basis.

Matt Miller, Bloomberg Billionaires editor, recently discussed how these billionaires make and stay on top of their fortunes. He also gave an inside look at the big winners, big losers, and some surprise new additions to the billionaire club.

How Does A Billionaire Do It?

According to Miller, these billionaires don’t just diversify mutual funds, invest in an ETF, or invest in the S&P Index Fund to become the billionaires they are today; they build equity from a concentrated position, such as a single large company.

Retail is a big presence among billionaires. This year has been kind to retailers in general due to the combination of cheap supplies, demand for moderately priced apparel, and the round the board rise in retail stocks in general. In fact, of the 25 richest people in the world, nine have fortunes founded in retail. In total, 26 of all the Bloomberg billionaires started their careers in retail. Technology is another large presence; 22 billionaires have fortunes in technology.

Miller says it’s been a terrific year for most billionaires. Private fortunes track public markets and the S&P is up.

Winners

Money might not be able to buy love and happiness, but it can turn the son of an impoverished railway worker into a retail magnate to rival Warren Buffett. Amancio Ortega is a 76-year-old man that earned more than $18 billion, or $66 million per day, in the first 10 months of this year.

Ortega is the founder of Inditex S.A., a Spanish company that owns and operates various clothing brands. Inditex has over 5,402 stores worldwide. Zara, the company’s star achiever, has over 1,600 store locations.

Due to financial struggles, Amancio Ortega was forced to quit school at just 13-years-old to work as a clothing shop delivery boy. Eventually, Ortega became a salesperson at the clothing shop. It’s his time selling expensive quilted bathrobes to rich women that spurred him to come up with an inexpensive version so that all women could afford to dress well, a notion that he would use as the principle behind his retail ventures and that ultimately created his retail success and empire. Today, Ortega has a net worth of $53.6 billion and just knocked Warren Buffett out of his previously held spot as the third wealthiest person in the world.

Losers

Of course, what goes up must inevitably come down.

The biggest loser on Bloomberg’s Index is Mexico’s Grupo Elektra runner and media and banking tycoon Ricardo Salinas Pliego. He has lost a whopping $9.1 billion so far this year as he has seen his stock holding value decline by half since April. That said, don’t get the waterworks flowing just yet for Pliego; he is still the 18th richest guy in the world with a net worth of $11.7 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, was estimated to be worth $20 billion prior to Facebook’s IPO. The May stock market debut failed to perform and his net worth has since decreased by $10.7 billion. Again, hold back the tears because Zuckerberg is still the 88th richest person in the world.

Surprise Additions To The Billionaire Club

According to Bloomberg, there are ten newly found billionaires that have never been seen on any international wealth ranking.

With a net worth of just over $13 billion, Dirce Navarro de Camargo is the 60th richest person in the world and Brazil’s wealthiest woman. Dirce Navarro de Camargo inherited an industrial empire, Camargo Correa SA, following her husband’s death.

With a net worth of $12.9 billion, Dallas, Texas’ Elaine Marshall is the 69th richest person in the world and the 4th richest woman in America. She inherited a 15% shareholding in Koch Industries when her late husband, E. Pierce Marshall, died. Some might remember Elaine Marshall from the epic court battle regarding her father-in-law’s estate and his widow, the late Anna Nicole Smith.

Billionaire Times