THE CHANGING FORTUNES OF THE WORLD’S RICHEST



The super rich are a whole lot richer than they were two months ago. Twenty five of the wealthiest people on Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires are worth a whopping $255 billion more than when the U.S. stock market hit a mid-pandemic low on March 23. 



Together these 25 folks–Forbes&nbsp;looked at just those on the list with fortunes tied to public stocks–are worth nearly $1.5 trillion, which is about 16% of the total wealth held by the world&#8217;s billionaires.



Facebook CEO <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-zuckerberg/">Mark Zuckerberg</a> is the biggest dollar gainer among this rarified group. Facebook shares surged nearly 60% over the past two months, hitting a record high on Friday May 22.  Investors responded positively to the Wednesday debut of Shops, Facebook&#8217;s effort to host digital storefronts for small business owners. Zuckerberg, now worth $86.5 billion, has become the fourth-richest person in the world, up from the No. 7 richest on Forbes’ 2020 list of the World’s Billionaires, published in early April. The 36-year-old is now richer than <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/warren-buffett/">Warren Buffett</a>, Inditex founder <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/amancio-ortega/">Amancio Ortega</a> and Oracle cofounder <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/larry-ellison/">Larry Ellison</a>.



The second-largest gainer in dollar terms is also the world&#8217;s richest man, Amazon founder and CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jeff-bezos/?listuri=rtb">Jeff Bezos</a>. Shares of the ecommerce giant have continued on a tear amid increased demand since coronavirus shuttered physical retailers. Amazon stock is up 29% since March 23. As of the end of the day Friday, Bezos was worth $146.9 billion, up $30 billion and 26% since March 23.&nbsp;



The biggest percentage gainer is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/colin-zheng-huang/">Colin Zheng Huang</a>, the founder of China&#8217;s second largest online marketplace (behind Alibaba), Pinduoduo. Boosted by the firm&#8217;s social shopping model, in which users share purchases with friends and family, and an aggressive campaign offering subsidized deals to consumers, Pinduoduo&#8217;s shares have nearly doubled since March 23, and Huang, its 40-year-old founder and CEO, has added $17.9 billion to his fortune; he&#8217;s now <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwang/2020/05/22/china-has-a-new-third-richest-man-and-hes-only-40-years-old/#70a53212739f">China&#8217;s third-richest person</a>, worth $35.6 billion.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="396" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-674197340-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45538" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-674197340-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-674197340-594x594-1-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>Colin Huang, chief executive officer and founder of Pinduoduo, poses for a photograph at the company&#8217;s office in Shanghai, China, on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. Pinduoduo, or PDD, is a kind of Facebook-Groupon mashup that Huang believes could revolutionize e-commerce. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Another notable gainer: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/mukesh-ambani/">Mukesh Ambani</a>, who became Asia&#8217;s richest person in April after Facebook announced a $5.7 billion investment into Mumbai-based Reliance Jio, a telecom subsidiary of the sprawling conglomerate founded by Ambani&#8217;s late father. The company has since raised loads more, including $1.5 billion from private equity giant KKR on Friday and $750 million from investment firm Silver Lake earlier this month. All told, the firm has raked in $10 billion of fresh capital in less than one month. Ambani is now worth $52.7 billion, up nearly $20 billion since the market trough. 



Billionaires with net worths tied to stakes in technology companies have led the way for gains amid the pandemic. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index turned positive for the year earlier this month, and it&#8217;s up 37% since March 23. The S&amp;P 500 and Dow Jones, meanwhile, are up about 31% each–still down roughly 10% and 15% for the year, respectively. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="367" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-965568310-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45539" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-965568310-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-965568310-594x594-1-300x185.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>FAYETTEVILLE, AR &#8211; JUNE 1: Members of the Walton family (L-R) Rob, Alice and Jim speak during the annual Walmart shareholders meeting event on June 1, 2018 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The shareholders week brings thousands of shareholders and associates from around the world to meet at the company&#8217;s global headquarters. (Photo by Rick T. Wilking/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



Not a single top 25 fortune has fallen since March 23. The fortunes of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jim-walton/">Jim</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/alice-walton/">Alice</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/rob-walton/">Robert Walton</a>, for example, grew the least percentage-wise, but they&#8217;re still up $3.6 billion each. Walmart shares hit an all-time high in mid-April after the first round of stimulus checks made their way to American bank accounts, and they&#8217;ve managed to stay near their peak. On Tuesday, the firm reported quarterly revenue that surged almost 10% to $134.6 billion, boosted by a 74% increase in online sales. Combined, the three billionaire Walmart heirs are worth close to $165 billion.



The figures stand in stark contrast to those at the other end of the wealth spectrum. In the U.S. total unemployment claims have risen to 39 million since mid-March, affecting about a quarter of the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.dlt.ri.gov/lmi/laus/us/usadj.htm" target="_blank">U.S. labor force</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">HERE’S HOW MUCH THE WORLD’S 25 RICHEST BILLIONAIRES HAVE GAINED OVER THE PAST TWO MONTHS.</h4>



The net worth change is from Monday, March 23, to Friday, May 22.



1 | JEFF BEZOS



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$146.9 BILLION, UP&nbsp;$29.9 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | AMAZON



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="395" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-1171215140-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45540" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-1171215140-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-1171215140-594x594-1-300x199.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>25 September 2019, US: Jeff Bezos, head of Amazon, can be seen on the fringes of the company&#8217;s novelties event. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa (Photo by Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



2 | BILL GATES



NET WORTH | $106.5 BILLION, UP $11.9 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | MICROSOFT



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



3 | BERNARD ARNAULT



NET WORTH | $94.1 BILLION, UP $12.8 BILLION



COUNTRY | FRANCE



SOURCE OF WEALTH | LVMH



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



4 | MARK ZUCKERBERG



NET WORTH | $86.5 BILLION, UP $31.4 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | FACEBOOK



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



5 | WARREN BUFFETT



NET WORTH | $69.2 BILLION, UP $6 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



6 | LARRY ELLISON



NET WORTH | $66.4 BILLION, UP $10.4 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | SOFTWARE



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



7 | STEVE BALLMER



NET WORTH | $65.4 BILLION, UP $14 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | MICROSOFT



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



8 | LARRY PAGE



NET WORTH | $63.6 BILLION, UP $14.2 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | GOOGLE



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



9 | SERGEY BRIN



NET WORTH | $61.3 BILLION, UP $13.7 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | GOOGLE



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



10 | AMANCIO ORTEGA



NET WORTH | $60.5 BILLION, UP $5.2 BILLION



COUNTRY | SPAIN



SOURCE OF WEALTH | ZARA



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



11 | JIM WALTON



NET WORTH | $55.2 BILLION, UP $3.6 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | WALMART



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



12 | ALICE WALTON



NET WORTH | $55 BILLION, UP $3.6 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | WALMART



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="960" height="641" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45542" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-2.jpg 960w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-2-600x401.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/960x0-2-768x513.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption>PHOTOGRAPH BY TIM PANNELL/THE FORBES COLLECTION</figcaption></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



13 | ROB WALTON



NET WORTH | $54.8 BILLION, UP $3.6 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | WALMART



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



 14 | FRANCOISE BETTENCOURT MEYERS



NET WORTH | $54.2 BILLION, UP $6.4 BILLION



COUNTRY | FRANCE



SOURCE OF WEALTH | L’OREAL



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



15 | MUKESH AMBANI



NET WORTH | $52.7 BILLION, UP $19.9 BILLION



COUNTRY | INDIA



SOURCE OF WEALTH | OIL &amp; GAS, PETROCHEMICALS



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="434" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-132668970-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45543" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-132668970-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-132668970-594x594-1-300x219.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>Mukesh D. Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., attends the World Economic Forum India Economic Summit 2011 in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011. The annual summit shifted to the country&#8217;s financial capital this year after being held in Delhi for 26 years. Photographer: Adeel Halim/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



16 | CARLOS SLIM HELU



NET WORTH | $51.2 BILLION, UP $4.2 BILLION



COUNTRY | MEXICO



SOURCE OF WEALTH | TELECOM



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



17 | MACKENZIE BEZOS



NET WORTH | $47.8 BILLION, UP $10.4 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | AMAZON



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



18 | MA HUATENG



NET WORTH | $46.4 BILLION, UP $6.8 BILLION



COUNTRY | CHINA



SOURCE OF WEALTH | INTERNET MEDIA



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



19 | JACK MA NET WORTH | $41.3 BILLION, UP $3 BILLION COUNTRY | CHINA SOURCE OF WEALTH | E-COMMERCE



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



20 | PHIL KNIGHT NET WORTH | $37.7 BILLION, UP $9.9 BILLION COUNTRY | UNITED STATES SOURCE OF WEALTH | NIKE



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="396" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-814600280-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45544" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-814600280-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-814600280-594x594-1-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>SUN VALLEY, ID &#8211; JULY 14: Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, attends the fourth day of the annual Allen &amp; Company Sun Valley Conference, July 14, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Every July, some of the world&#8217;s most wealthy and powerful businesspeople from the media, finance, technology and political spheres converge at the Sun Valley Resort for the exclusive weeklong conference. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



21 | ELON MUSK



NET WORTH | $36.7 BILLION, UP $9.5 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | TESLA MOTORS, SPACEX



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



22 | COLIN ZHENG HUANG



NET WORTH | $35.6 BILLION, UP $17.9 BILLION



COUNTRY | CHINA



SOURCE OF WEALTH | E-COMMERCE



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



23 | FRANCOIS PINAULT



NET WORTH | $31.8 BILLION, UP $2.1 BILLION



COUNTRY | FRANCE



SOURCE OF WEALTH | LUXURY GOODS



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



24 | SHELDON ADELSON



NET WORTH | $30.7 BILLION, UP $1.4 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | CASINOS



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



25 | MICHAEL DELL



NET WORTH | $28.3 BILLION, UP $3.5 BILLION



COUNTRY | UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | DELL COMPUTERS



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/">Jonathan Ponciano</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/worlds-billionaires">Billionaires</a>

1920×0

The World’s 25 Richest Billionaires Have Gained Nearly $255 Billion In Just Two Months

It’s everyone’s dream to get paid to do nothing. Bitcoin miner Layer1 is turning that dream into reality — having figured out how to make money even when its machines are turned off.&nbsp;



Layer1 is a cryptocurrency startup backed by the likes of billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/peter-thiel/#20734ccc533a">Peter Thiel</a>. In recent months, out in the hardscrabble land of west Texas,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2020/02/28/why-is-this-peter-thiel-backed-startup-mining-bitcoin-in-west-texas/#57cf2dc55174">the company has been busy</a>&nbsp;erecting steel boxes (think shipping containers) stuffed chockablock with high-end processors submerged inside cooling baths of mineral oil. Why west Texas? Beause thanks to a glut of natural gas and a forest of wind turbines, power there is among the cheapest in the world — which is what you need for crypto.&nbsp;



“Mining Bitcoin is about converting electricity into money,” says Alex Liegl, CEO and co-founder. By this fall Layer1 will have dozens of these boxes churning around the clock to transform 100 megawatts into a stream of Bitcoin. Liegl says their average cost of production is about $1,000 per coin — equating to a 90% profit margin at current BTC price of $9,100.&nbsp;



So it’s odd how excited Liegl is about the prospect of having to shut down his Bitcoin miners this summer.&nbsp;



Already this year west Texas has seen a string of 100-degree days. But the real heat and humidity don’t hit until August, which is when the Texas power grid strains under the load of every air conditioning unit in the state going full blast. During an intense week in 2019, wholesale electricity prices in the grid region managed by the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) soared from about $120 per megawatthour to peak out at $9,000 per mwh. It was only the third time in history that Texas power hit that level. And although the peak pricing only lasted an hour or so, that’s enough to generate big profits. Analyst Hugh Wynne at research outfit SSR figures that Texas power generators make about 15% of annual revenues during the peak 1% of hours (whereas in more temperate California grid generators only get 3% of revs from the top 1%).



Turns out that running a phalanx of Bitcoin miners is a great way to arbitrage those peaks. Layer1 has entered into so-called “demand response” contracts whereby at a minute’s notice they will shut down all their machines and instead allow their 100 mw load to flow onto the grid. “We act as an insurance underwriter for the energy grid,” says Liegl, 27. “If there is an insufficiency of supply we can shut down.” The best part, they get paid whether a grid emergeny occurs or not. Just for their willingness to shut in Bitcoin production, Layer1 collects an annual premium equating to $19 per megawatthour of their expected power demand — or about $17 million. Given Layer1’s roughly $25 per mwh long-term contracted costs, this gets their all-in power price down 75% to less than 1 cent per kwh (just 10% of what residential customers pay).&nbsp;



It may seem like grid operators are paying Layer1 a lot for something that might not even happen, especially with coronavirus reducing electricity demand, but it makes total sense, says&nbsp;<a href="https://uh.edu/uh-energy/about-uh-energy/energy-fellows/blog-posts/ed-hirs/index.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ed Hirs</a>, a lecturer in energy economics at the University of Houston and research fellow at consultancy BDO: “It’s a lot cheaper option than building a whole new power plant or battery system just to keep it on standby.”&nbsp;



And although this may be a new concept for cryptocurrency miners, it’s been done before. Two decades ago industrialist Charles Hurwitz bought up power-hogging aluminum smelters in the Pacific Northwest and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/0402/053.html#34cccc1d3da9">made more money reselling electricity</a>&nbsp;than making metal. “It used to be called load management,” says Dan Delurey, a consultant with&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wedgemere.com/team/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wedgemere Group</a>. “In old commercial buildings you might still find telephone wires connected to air conditioning systems so that grid operators could send a signal to shut off.” More recently we’ve seen companies install radio-based devices to control hot water heaters and lighting systems. Indeed, grid management is a hot enough area that in 2017 Italy’s power giant Enel bought Boston-based Enernoc for $250 million and Itron&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/itron" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ITRI</a>&nbsp;bought Comverge for $100 million. What’s emerged are entities, like Layer1, that Delurey calls the “prosumer” — producing consumer.&nbsp;



As for Layer1, Liegl says his next step is to vertically integrate into financial products, including Bitcoin derivatives and more. “We are building an in-house energy trading division to leverage this into being a virtual power plant.”&nbsp;



His message to any pikers still trying to mine cryptocurrencies from their bedroom PC or even via cloud services: “I can’t think of something more irrational at this point. It’s like if I wanted to dig a hole in my backyard and try to get oil out of the ground.”&nbsp;



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/">Christopher Helman</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/energy">Energy</a>

gettyimages-1130794858-170667a

How This Billionaire-Backed Crypto Startup Gets Paid To Not Mine Bitcoin

TOPLINE Jeff Bezos’ wealth suddenly caught Twitter&#8217;s attention on Wednesday amid ‘claims’ that the world’s richest man is set to become a trillionaire, in part thanks to pandemic-driven demand that has sent Amazon stock soaring.



KEY FACTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Bezos was trending on Twitter on Wednesday after a months-old <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.comparisun.com/resources/the-trillion-dollar-club/" target="_blank">study</a> by small business advice platform, Comparisun, resurfaced, claiming that Bezos net worth could reach $1 trillion by 2026.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The company analyzed the market cap of the highest valued firms on the New York Stock Exchange, as well as Forbes’ 25 richest people. Chinese real estate billionaire Xu Jiayin is second on the study’s list.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>But Bezos has a long way to go to become the world’s first trillionaire. At the time of publication, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jeff-bezos/#26e34b671b23">Forbes values</a> the 56-year-old’s net worth to be $143 billion. He owns a 11.2% stake in Amazon, and his wealth has surged upwards from around $125 billion in March.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Amazon is predicted to be one of the winners of the pandemic as demand for online shopping, streaming and delivery services flies.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Sales in the first three months of the year topped $75 billion, up from $60 billion in 2019. The potential for a second wave of the virus and further lockdowns could keep that demand high.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Bezos joined Forbes’ <a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/#62bb434c7e2f">list</a> of 400 richest Americans in 1998, four years after he founded Amazon, and had a net worth of $1.6 billion at the time.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/Thomas_A_Moore/status/1260788716693487616?s=20
</div></figure>



KEY BACKGROUND



Amazon&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/amazon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AMZN</a>&nbsp;shares are up more than&nbsp;<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/amzn-stock" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">28%</a>&nbsp;so far this year. But the company is now up against “the hardest time” it has ever faced, Bezos&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/30/amazon-q1-beats-on-net-sales-of-75-5b-but-posts-net-income-of-2-5b-down-1b-on-a-year-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;in April. The company predicted operating profits of $4 billion in the three months to June, but is now committing that entire amount to “COVID-related expenses” such as higher wages for hourly teams, buying up personal protective equipment for staff, and developing coronavirus testing facilities.



The company has been under fire from former employees—both office staff and warehouse workers—for allegedly silencing them after they spoke out about a lack of protection against the virus. Amazon has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/03/31/amazon-fires-worker-who-led-warehouse-walkout-demanding-coronavirus-protections/#2e290bfb4c0c">let go</a>&nbsp;a number of employees, claiming that they&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/04/14/amazon-fires-two-more-employees-after-calling-out-warehouse-working-conditions/#5a28a575199e">breached</a>&nbsp;company policy.&nbsp;



TANGENT



In February, Bezos pocketed $3.1 billion after selling $4 billion worth of Amazon shares since January.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/">Isabel Togoh</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

gettyimages-532206876-594×594

Jeff Bezos ‘Trillionaire’ Is Trending On Twitter. Here’s Why

TOPLINE Former Facebook moderators will receive at least $1,000 each after Facebook agreed to pay $52 million to settle a lawsuit over allegedly failing to protect moderators being exposed to harmful content online.



KEY FACTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Moderators were exposed to the worst types of content online including terrorism, pedophilia and animal abuse. They were hired by Facebook through third-party firms.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The settlement covers more than 11,000 current and former moderators across California, Arizona, Texas and Florida. It was filed at San Mateo County Superior Court on Friday.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Plaintiffs who have been diagnosed with a mental illness, including PTSD, qualify for additional compensation of up to $50,000.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The social media giant says it will change its policies in response to the case, and introduce compulsory group counseling sessions for moderators, while third-party firms will be required to step up support for moderators’ mental health.</li></ul>



CRUCIAL COMMENT



Lawyer Steve Williams, representing the plaintiffs, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/12/facebook-settlement-mental-health-moderators" target="_blank">told</a> The Guardian: “The harm that can be suffered from this work is real and severe. So the fact that we got some real, meaningful relief going forward just feels really good.”



KEY BACKGROUND



Facebook was sued in September 2018 by former content moderator Selena Scola, who developed PTSD after nine months in the job, thanks to regular exposure to images of rape and murder. The scale of the mental toll on moderators was exposed by The Verge last year. The outlet <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona" target="_blank">reported</a> that some Facebook content moderators working for IT firm Cognizant <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/cognizant" target="_blank">CTSH</a> in Arizona had developed fringe views after exposure to extreme right-wing and conspiracy theorist content, while some had developed PTSD. To cope, some moderators at the firm smoked weed to numb their emotions, while being paid just $28,800 a year. A Guardian report last year found that moderators for Facebook based in Berlin were becoming <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/17/revealed-catastrophic-effects-working-facebook-moderator" target="_blank">addicted</a> to extreme content, were overworked and paid little. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Thank you and the team for all of your diligent efforts, work, and support on this case for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/content?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#content</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/moderators?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#moderators</a> at <a href="https://twitter.com/facebook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/instagram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/lydiaannewright?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lydiaannewright</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/d_charest_law?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@d_charest_law</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MentalHealthMatters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MentalHealthMatters</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MentalHealthAwareness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MentalHealthAwareness</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MentalHealthMonth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MentalHealthMonth</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PTSD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PTSD</a> <a href="https://t.co/fXhq7UyS8n">https://t.co/fXhq7UyS8n</a>&mdash; Selena Scola (@selena_scola) <a href="https://twitter.com/selena_scola/status/1260321806633721858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/">Isabel Togoh</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

gettyimages-1197863868-594×594

Facebook Will Pay Out $52 Million After Failing To Protect Moderators From Dangers Of Extreme Content

Zhang Yiming, the 36-year-old Chinese billionaire founder of social media app TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, has pledged $10 million to the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, a project founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Other donors to the Accelerator include the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Michael &amp; Susan Dell Foundation, and singer Madonna.&nbsp;



“While [Zhang] has met Bill Gates a couple of times in passing, he does not know him well but has tremendous respect for Bill and Melinda Gates’ systematic approach and ongoing efforts in contributing to philanthropy,” a spokesperson for Zhang said. “He sees them as an inspiration for all entrepreneurs fortunate enough to be in a position to give back to the community.”&nbsp;



The Accelerator was launched in March as a $125 million fund, initially backed by the Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and Mastercard. In <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2020/04/03/a-bill-gates-backed-accelerator-for-covid-19-coronavirus-therapeutics-treatment-partners-with-madonna-and-mark-zuckerbergs-chan-zuckerberg-initiative/#d007e668067a">early April</a>, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s philanthropic arm CZI announced a $25 million gift to the fund. The U.K. government and Madonna also became donors; the size of their gifts were undisclosed.



The Accelerator’s mission is to coordinate research, remove barriers to drug development, and scale up treatments to the coronavirus with fast and flexible funding, according to the Accelerator’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.therapeuticsaccelerator.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a>. It is working with the World Health Organization, researchers, governments, the private sector and global regulators to fast track drugs related to COVID-19.



“Philanthropic, government and private sector organizations, as well as individuals like Zhang Yiming demonstrate the wide array of donors who understand the value of collaboration in developing effective drugs  to help turn the tide of this pandemic,” said Trevor Mundel, president of the global health division at the Gates Foundation. “Until we have a vaccine, expanded testing, isolation and treatment are our best options.”



Forbes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2019/11/04/meet-zhang-yiming-the-chinese-billionaire-behind-tiktok/#466a82ad75b3">pegs</a>&nbsp;Zhang’s net worth at $16.2 billion, based on his estimated ownership of about one quarter of ByteDance. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Beijing, the privately held company last raised financing in 2018 at a massive $75 billion valuation.&nbsp;



TikTok launched in 2016 and reached international markets the next year. The short video app, which has around 625 million users worldwide, according to App Annie, appeals particularly to the Gen Z demographic.&nbsp;



This is the first known significant philanthropic donation by Zhang.&nbsp;



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/">Angel Au-Yeung</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/worlds-billionaires">Billionaires</a>

gettyimages-1137246347-594×594

Billionaire Behind TikTok Commits $10 Million To A Bill Gates-Backed Accelerator For COVID-19 Therapeutics Treatments

A small percentage of the world’s richest people have publicly disclosed financial gifts to help fight COVID-19. Others are using their money to help support their own companies.



 As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the globe,&nbsp;billionaires are donating to the fight against it—with some giving more than others.&nbsp;Since&nbsp;mid-March,&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;has been tracking how much this ultra-rich set has been donating to COVID-19 causes. While most of the world’s 2,095 billionaires have yet to give, or won’t disclose how much they’ve spent, at least 77 of them have reached into their wallets. Of those, 54 have disclosed at least part of their giving while another 23,&nbsp;such as Alibaba’s Joseph Tsai, gave unspecified amounts of cash or provided assistance in the form of medical supplies or equipment that&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;was unable to value.



Of these billionaires, Jack Dorsey has emerged as the most generous giver&nbsp;so far,&nbsp;after&nbsp;announcing on April 7 that he was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/04/07/jack-dorsey-pledges-1-billion-to-fight-coronavirus/#13789a511ba3">moving $1 billion</a>&nbsp;of his Square stock—about a quarter of his $3.9 billion net worth—into an LLC to support COVID-19 relief efforts and other causes. It’s unclear how much of this $1 billion will go&nbsp;toward&nbsp;the coronavirus pandemic (so far he has given out about $5 million combined to four organizations), but&nbsp;even if it ends up being just&nbsp;20% of his pledge, he will still have far outspent his peers.&nbsp;The second-largest pledge comes from Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, whose foundation has committed $255 million,&nbsp;much of it to be spent on vaccines, treatment and diagnostic development.&nbsp;Indian tech magnate Azim Premji comes in third,&nbsp;planning to give&nbsp;$132 million&nbsp;to&nbsp;humanitarian aid and health interventions to curb the spread of COVID-19.



Donald Trump, America’s first billionaire president,&nbsp;also makes&nbsp;Forbes’&nbsp;&nbsp;roundup,&nbsp;following a&nbsp;$100,000&nbsp;donation—one quarter of his salary—to the&nbsp;Department of Health and Human Services. The check represents 0.005% of his $2.1 billion net worth.&nbsp;



One Oklahoma billionaire who has committed $10 million so far was critical of President Trump, not because of his paltry gift but because of his administration’s response thus far. “It’s unfortunate that private charity has to assume the role of primary safety net and even supply chain and logistics manager because of the failure of government to perform its function,” said George Kaiser.



Here are the billionaires who disclosed gifts, sorted by contribution amount and then measured by gift as percentage of their net worth. (It does not include&nbsp;the 30-plus billionaires, including Ralph Lauren and Mukesh Ambani, whose companies have given aid or who&nbsp;have promised to use personal funds to help their companies weather the storm.)



Billionaire Contributions To Pandemic Relief



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-1-1024x536.png" alt="" class="wp-image-44746" width="716" height="374" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-1-1024x536.png 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-1-300x157.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-1-600x314.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-1-768x402.png 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-1.png 1072w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-2-1024x499.png" alt="" class="wp-image-44747" width="714" height="347" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-2-1024x499.png 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-2-300x146.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-2-600x292.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-2-768x374.png 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-2.png 1073w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 714px) 100vw, 714px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-3-1024x535.png" alt="" class="wp-image-44748" width="710" height="371" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-3-1024x535.png 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-3-300x157.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-3-600x314.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-3-768x402.png 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-3.png 1069w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-4-1024x568.png" alt="" class="wp-image-44749" width="708" height="392" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-4-1024x568.png 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-4-300x166.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-4-600x333.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-4-768x426.png 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-4.png 1070w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-5-2-1024x499.png" alt="" class="wp-image-44752" width="704" height="343" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-5-2-1024x499.png 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-5-2-300x146.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-5-2-600x292.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-5-2-768x374.png 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-5-2.png 1071w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px" /></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-6-1024x291.png" alt="" class="wp-image-44753" width="703" height="199" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-6-1024x291.png 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-6-300x85.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-6-600x170.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-6-768x218.png 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/billion-6.png 1071w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 703px) 100vw, 703px" /></figure>



Some of the figures above are pledges. Net worth and giving data was last updated April 27, 2020.



Table: Forbes  <a href="data:application/octet-stream;charset=utf-8,NAME%2CRESIDENCE%2CCONTRIBUTION%20PURPOSE%2CCONTRIBUTION%20VALUE%20(M%20USD)%2CNET%20WORTH%20(M%20USD)%2C%25%20OF%20NET%20WORTH%0AJack%20Dorsey%2C%22San%20Francisco%2C%20California%22%2C%22relief%20efforts%2C%20other%20causes%22%2C%22as%20much%20as%201%2C000%22%2C%224%2C000%22%2Cas%20much%20as%2025%25%0A%22Bill%20Gates%2C%20Melinda%20Gates%22%2C%22Medina%2C%20Washington%22%2Ctreatment%20and%20vaccine%20development%2C255%2C%22104%2C400%22%2C0.24%25%0AAzim%20Premji%2C%22Bangalore%2C%20India%22%2C%22humanitarian%20aid%2C%20healthcare%22%2C132%2C%226%2C000%22%2C2.20%25%0AGeorge%20Soros%2C%22Katonah%2C%20New%20York%22%2C%22relief%20for%20vulnerable%20populations%20and%20low-income%20workers%2C%20other%20causes%22%2C130%2C%228%2C300%22%2C1.57%25%0AAndrew%20Forrest%2C%22Perth%2C%20Australia%22%2C%22medical%20supplies%2C%20testing%20development%22%2C100%2B%2C%228%2C100%22%2C1.23%25%2B%0AJeff%20Skoll%2C%22Palo%20Alto%2C%20California%22%2C%22testing%2C%20contact%20tracing%2C%20relief%20efforts%20in%20developing%20countries%22%2C100%2B%2C%225%2C100%22%2C1.96%25%2B%0AJeff%20Bezos%2C%22Seattle%2C%20Washington%22%2Chunger%20relief%2C100%2C%22142%2C600%22%2C0.07%25%0AMichael%20Dell%2C%22Austin%2C%20Texas%22%2C%22vaccine%20development%2C%20other%20causes%22%2C100%2C%2227%2C300%22%2C0.37%25%0AMichael%20Bloomberg%2C%22New%20York%2C%20New%20York%22%2C%22relief%20efforts%20in%20developing%20countries%2C%20other%20causes%22%2C74.5%2B%2C%2255%2C900%22%2C0.13%25%2B%0A%22Lynn%20Schusterman%2C%20Stacy%20Schusterman%22%2C%22Tulsa%2C%20Oklahoma%22%2Ceconomic%20relief%2C70%2C%223%2C400%22%2C2.06%25%0AAmancio%20Ortega%2C%22La%20Coruna%2C%20Spain%22%2Cmedical%20supplies%20and%20equipment%20purchase%2C68%2C%2261%2C100%22%2C0.11%25%0ANicky%20Oppenheimer%2C%22Johannesburg%2C%20South%20Africa%22%2Ceconomic%20relief%2C54.5%2C%227%2C500%22%2C0.73%25%0AJohann%20Rupert%2C%22Cape%20Town%2C%20South%20Africa%22%2Ceconomic%20relief%2C54.5%2C%224%2C700%22%2C1.16%25%0APatrice%20Motsepe%2C%22Johannesburg%2C%20South%20Africa%22%2C%22medical%20supplies%2C%20water%20access%22%2C43.5%2C%221%2C500%22%2C2.90%25%0A%22Mark%20Zuckerberg%2C%20Priscilla%20Chan%22%2C%22Palo%20Alto%2C%20California%22%2C%22testing%2C%20treatments%2C%20scientific%20research%22%2C37%2C%2269%2C400%22%2C0.05%25%0AAlisher%20Usmanov%2C%22Moscow%2C%20Russia%22%2Cmedical%20supplies%20and%20equipment%2C33.2%2C%2214%2C600%22%2C0.23%25%0AReed%20Hastings%2C%22Santa%20Cruz%2C%20California%22%2Cvaccine%20development%2C30%2C%224%2C700%22%2C0.64%25%0ABidzina%20Ivanishvili%2C%22Tbilisi%2C%20Georgia%22%2Caid%20to%20government%2C30%2C%224%2C800%22%2C0.63%25%0ADavid%20Tepper%2C%22Miami%20Beach%2C%20Florida%22%2C%22community%20organizations%2C%20hunger%20relief%22%2C22%2B%2C%2212%2C000%22%2C0.18%25%2B%0ALeon%20Black%2C%22New%20York%2C%20New%20York%22%2Cfood%20and%20other%20supplies%20for%20hospital%20staff%2C20%2C%227%2C700%22%2C0.26%25%0AJack%20Ma%2C%22Hangzhou%2C%20China%22%2C%22vaccine%20development%2C%20medical%20supplies%22%2C14%2B%2C%2241%2C700%22%2C0.03%25%2B%0ALi%20Ka-shing%2C%22Hong%20Kong%2C%20Hong%20Kong%22%2Ccommunity%20organizations%2C13%2B%2C%2226%2C100%22%2C0.05%25%2B%0AVladimir%20Potanin%2C%22Moscow%2C%20Russia%22%2Cnon-profit%20aid%2C13.1%2C%2223%2C800%22%2C0.06%25%0ADenise%20Coates%2C%22Stoke-on-Trent%2C%20United%20Kingdom%22%2Chospitals%2C12.6%2C%227%2C100%22%2C0.18%25%0ALeonardo%20Del%20Vecchio%2C%22Milan%2C%20Italy%22%2Chospitals%2C11%2C%2218%2C000%22%2C0.06%25%0ASilvio%20Berlusconi%2C%22Milan%2C%20Italy%22%2Cbuilding%20ICU%20units%2C11%2C%225%2C800%22%2C0.19%25%0AGeorge%20Kaiser%2C%22Tulsa%2C%20Oklahoma%22%2C%22economic%20relief%2C%20food%2C%20medical%20supplies%22%2C10%2B%2C%225%2C800%22%2C0.17%25%2B%0AOprah%20Winfrey%2C%22Montecito%2C%20California%22%2C%22hunger%20relief%2C%20other%20causes%22%2C10%2C%222%2C600%22%2C0.38%25%0ARobert%20Kraft%2C%22Brookline%2C%20Massachusetts%22%2C%22medical%20supplies%2C%20meals%20%22%2C7%2B%2C%226%2C900%22%2C0.10%25%2B%0AViktor%20Rashnikov%2C%22Magnitogorsk%2C%20Russia%22%2C%22education%2C%20medical%20supplies%2C%20other%20causes%22%2C6.8%2C%228%2C700%22%2C0.08%25%0ANaguib%20Sawiris%2C%22Cairo%2C%20Egypt%22%2C%22economic%20relief%2C%20aid%20to%20government%22%2C6.4%2C%223%2C000%22%2C0.21%25%0ALen%20Blavatnik%2C%22London%2C%20United%20Kingdom%22%2Chospitals%2C6.2%2C%2218%2C100%22%2C0.03%25%0AArthur%20Blank%2C%22Atlanta%2C%20Georgia%22%2Ccommunity%20organizations%2C5.8%2C%225%2C300%22%2C0.11%25%0ADiego%20Della%20Valle%2C%22Sant%22%20Elpidio%20A%20Mare%2C%20Italy%22%2Caid%20to%20government%2C5.5%2C%221%2C100%22%2C0.50%25%0AEnnio%20Doris%2C%22Tombolo%2C%20Italy%22%2Caid%20to%20government%2C5.5%2C%222%2C400%22%2C0.23%25%0AAliko%20Dangote%2C%22Lagos%2C%20Nigeria%22%2Caid%20to%20government%2C5.2%2C%228%2C000%22%2C0.07%25%0ABrian%20Roberts%2C%22Philadelphia%2C%20Pennsylvania%22%2Ceducation%2C5%2B%2C%221%2C700%22%2C0.29%25%2B%0ABrian%20Chesky%2C%22San%20Francisco%2C%20California%22%2C%22economic%20relief%2C%20housing%20for%20first%20responders%22%2C5%2C%224%2C100%22%2C0.12%25%0AJB%20Pritzker%2C%22Springfield%2C%20Illinois%22%2Ccommunity%20organizations%2C4%2C%223%2C400%22%2C0.12%25%0AMike%20Adenuga%2C%22Lagos%2C%20Nigeria%22%2Caid%20to%20government%2C3.9%2C%225%2C800%22%2C0.07%25%0AUday%20Kotak%2C%22Mumbai%2C%20India%22%2Caid%20to%20government%2C3.3%2C%2211%2C100%22%2C0.03%25%0ABenetton%20family%2C%22Treviso%2C%20Italy%22%2Chospital%2C3.2%2C%227%2C400%22%2C0.04%25%0ANathan%20Blecharczyk%2C%22San%20Francisco%2C%20California%22%2Ceconomic%20relief%2C3%2C%224%2C100%22%2C0.07%25%0A%22Andrew%20Cherng%2C%20Peggy%20Cherng%22%2C%22Las%20Vegas%2C%20Nevada%22%2C%22hunger%20relief%2C%20medical%20supplies%22%2C3%2C%223%2C000%22%2C0.10%25%0AJoe%20Gebbia%2C%22San%20Francisco%2C%20California%22%2Ceconomic%20relief%2C3%2C%224%2C100%22%2C0.07%25%0AAbdulsamad%20Rabiu%2C%22Lagos%2C%20Nigeria%22%2Ccentral%20bank%20fund%2C2.6%2C%222%2C600%22%2C0.10%25%0AGiorgio%20Armani%2C%22Milan%2C%20Italy%22%2Chospitals%2C2.2%2C%226%2C700%22%2C0.03%25%0APenny%20Pritzker%2C%22Chicago%2C%20Illinois%22%2Ccommunity%20organizations%2C2%2B%2C%222%2C700%22%2C0.07%25%2B%0AJimmy%20Haslam%2C%22Knoxville%2C%20Tennessee%22%2Ccommunity%20organizations%2C1.5%2C%222%2C800%22%2C0.05%25%0AFrancesco%20Gaetano%20Caltagirone%2C%22Rome%2C%20Italy%22%2Chospitals%2C1.1%2C%222%2C200%22%2C0.05%25%0AJames%20Irsay%2C%22Carmel%2C%20Indiana%22%2C%22food%20bank%2C%20schools%2C%20masks%22%2C1%2B%2C%223%2C000%22%2C0.03%25%2B%0AGayle%20Benson%2C%22New%20Orleans%2C%20Louisiana%22%2Ccommunity%20organizations%2C1%2C%223%2C200%22%2C0.03%25%0AStephen%20Bisciotti%2C%22Millersville%2C%20Maryland%22%2C%22community%20organizations%2C%20hospitals%22%2C1%2C%224%2C200%22%2C0.02%25%0AJay-Z%2C%22New%20York%2C%20New%20York%22%2C%22aid%20for%20frontline%20workers%2C%20other%20causes%22%2C1%2C%221%2C000%22%2C0.10%25%0AKylie%20Jenner%2C%22Hidden%20Hills%2C%20California%22%2Cmedical%20supplies%2C1%2C%221%2C000%22%2C0.10%25%0AJeffrey%20Lurie%2C%22Wynnewood%2C%20Pennsylvania%22%2Cmedical%20research%2C1%2C%222%2C700%22%2C0.04%25%0ASheryl%20Sandberg%2C%22Menlo%20Park%2C%20California%22%2Chunger%20relief%2C1%2C%221%2C600%22%2C0.06%25%0AStephen%20Ross%2C%22New%20York%2C%20New%20York%22%2Chunger%20relief%2C0.5%2C%227%2C600%22%2C0.01%25%0AJanice%20McNair%2C%22Houston%2C%20Texas%22%2Ccommunity%20organizations%2C0.5%2C%224%2C000%22%2C0.01%25%0ADonald%20Trump%2C%22Washington%2C%20D.C.%22%2Caid%20to%20government%2C0.1%2C%222%2C100%22%2C0.005%25">Get the data</a><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/hOeXa/" target="_blank">Created with Datawrapper</a>



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/">Hayley C. Cuccinello</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/worlds-billionaires">Billionaires</a>

Jack Dorsey, Bill Gates And At Least 75 Other Billionaires Donating To Pandemic Relief

Elon Musk has achieved remarkable and unexpected things with Tesla&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/tesla">TSLA</a>&nbsp;in the 16 years since his electric-car maker debuted its first prototype. Add to that list the likelihood the billionaire entrepreneur is closing in on the last requirements to win a stock jackpot worth $600 million or more–in the middle of what’s shaping up to be the worst economic slump since the Great Depression.&nbsp;



Six weeks ago, with U.S. stock indices and Tesla shares plunging as the scope of the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, the odds Musk would achieve the first tranche of his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2020/03/10/elon-musks-drive-to-55-billion-tesla-payday-slowed-by-covid-19-stock-slide/#36ff7fd14256">12-part $55 billion compensation package</a>&nbsp;looked slim. Yet&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;now estimates the stock’s 100% rebound from a recent low-point on March 18 has Tesla on track to hit both six-month and 30-day market cap averages of $100 billion in early May. Once that happens, the company’s board would award Musk 1.69 million Tesla shares that, factoring in an exercise price of $350.02 share, would have a net value of at least $600 million. Tesla’s rebound far outpaced the 18% increase in the S&amp;P 500 and GM’s 30% rise since March 18.



Musk’s compensation package runs through 2028 and was unveiled more than two years ago, well before the current health crisis. A review of it by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/business/dealbook/tesla-elon-musk-pay.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbusiness&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=business&amp;region=rank&amp;module=package&amp;version=highlights&amp;contentPlacement=1&amp;pgtype=sectionfront" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The New York Times</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/new-york-times">NYT</a>&nbsp;in January 2018 called it the “boldest pay plan in corporate history.” Never one to think small, Musk told the paper: “I actually see the potential for Tesla to become a trillion-dollar company within a 10-year period.”



Certainly, the timing of the award is awkward. Tesla’s South African-born CEO and cofounder, with a net worth&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/#1e07bc1a7999">$40 billion</a>&nbsp;as of April 27, would be getting the biggest payday of his life at a time of widespread economic turmoil and job loss across the U.S. and major developed economies. More than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2020/04/25/the-coronavirus-will-explode-the-federal-deficit-and-debt/#77a2ac577ef7">26 million Americans have filed unemployment claims</a>&nbsp;in the past six weeks of the coronavirus shutdown, which in turn appears likely to trigger a recession and a continued, unprecedented level of Federal spending. Tesla itself&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2020/04/08/tesla-plans-pay-cuts-and-worker-furloughs-as-covid-19-shutdown-drags-on/#2180ce4e6675">implemented&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2020/04/08/tesla-plans-pay-cuts-and-worker-furloughs-as-covid-19-shutdown-drags-on/#2180ce4e6675">across-the-board pay cuts for all employees and furloughed thousands of U.S. factory workers</a>.



“This is like Marie Antoinette telling the peasants&nbsp;to eat cake if there is no bread. Still, Musk has never been troubled about appearances and may feel that he earned it,” says&nbsp;Columbia Law School Professor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/john-c-coffee-jr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Coffee</a>.



The electric-car maker’s shares rose 10% to $798.75&nbsp;in Nasdaq&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nasdaq">NDAQ</a>&nbsp;trading Monday, boosting its market cap to $147 billion. The daily increase boosted Musk’s wealth by $2.6 billion, the biggest gain among&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#5c956a2a3d78">billionaires tracked by&nbsp;Forbes</a>.



Tesla’s average market capitalization is $95.5 billion, from Oct. 25, 2019, through April 24, based on data from S&amp;P Global Capital IQ. The Palo Alto, California-based company’s 30-day average market cap is $104 billion. If the share price stays at its trailing 10-day average of $718.57 for eight more sessions, the six-month average market cap would be achieved by the trading close on May 6.



A&nbsp;Delaware judge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-musk-pay/delaware-judge-says-tesla-board-must-face-trial-over-musks-mega-pay-package-idUSKBN1W52KF" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ruled in September</a>&nbsp;that Tesla’s board must defend Musk’s compensation package in a suit brought by a shareholder. Vice Chancellor Joseph Slights of the Delaware Court of Chancery rebuffed Tesla’s request to dismiss the lawsuit by shareholder Richard Tornetta, which says it unjustly enriched Musk.



Tesla reports first-quarter earnings on April 29, after the close of regular market trading. If it tops consensus expectations, which Barclays equity analyst Brian Johnson sees as a possibility, that could propel the stock even higher.&nbsp;



“While consensus has drifted down to a 32c loss for 1Q, no doubt due to lower than ingoing deliveries and the likely ramp costs in China, we would not rule out a non-GAAP profit for 1Q20, which (on top of the recent stock price rise) would add further fuel to the bull narrative that Tesla is set to dominate global automaking,” Johnson said in a recent report. He also noted that Musk would likely achieve the performance target in early May, increasing the odds of a new fundraising round by Tesla in the weeks ahead. Johnson estimates Tesla will report adjusted earnings per share of 61 cents for the quarter that ended on March 31.



Currently, Tesla’s main U.S. auto plant in Fremont, California, is idle owing to the coronavirus shutdown, though its new Gigafactory in Shanghai that opened in January is ramping up production of Model 3 sedans. The company, which briefly defied a local ordinance in Fremont to stop making cars last month, may call some workers back as early as April 29,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-25/tesla-is-calling-some-california-plant-workers-back-next-week" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg reported</a>.&nbsp;Tesla has told employees it wants to restart production at Fremont by May 4.



Much larger payouts to Musk will come in the form of 11 additional awards of 1.69 million Tesla shares, assuming he meets ever-larger <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://ir.tesla.com/news-releases/news-release-details/tesla-announces-new-long-term-performance-award-elon-musk?ReleaseID=1054948" target="_blank">targets for market cap, revenue and adjusted profit through 2028</a>. If he falls short in a particular period, he gets nothing. To receive the maximum payout of 20.3 million shares, Tesla’s market cap must hit $650 billion, more than five times the current level. Annual revenue from Tesla’s electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels has to be $175 billion, with adjusted earnings of $14 billion. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="960" height="713" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/tesla.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-44730" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/tesla.jpg 960w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/tesla-300x223.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/tesla-600x446.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/tesla-768x570.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption>Tesla</figcaption></figure>



Tesla said in its&nbsp;<a href="https://ir.tesla.com/static-files/07bfcb70-aba1-4a27-af09-4f101678320c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">annual report</a>&nbsp;on Feb. 13 that Musk fulfilled “two operational milestones,” with annual revenue of $24.6 billion in 2019 and annual adjusted pre-tax earnings of at least $1.5 billion. At that time, “no market capitalization milestones have been achieved,” the company said.



It’s not a problem that the market cap goals are likely to occur months after a fiscal year, Tesla said in a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://ir.tesla.com/static-files/55362f0a-ee8a-4fcc-ba11-cc09194974b6" target="_blank">2018 SEC filing</a>. “A Market Capitalization Milestone and an Operational Milestone that are matched together can be achieved at different points in time and vesting will occur at the later of the achievement certification dates for such Market Capitalization Milestone and Operational Milestone.” 



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/">Alan Ohnsman</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/transportation">Transportation</a>

gettyimages-490597796-594×594

Elon Musk May Bank The Biggest Payday Of His Life During Global Pandemic

After months of requests, the hip-hop superstar shared financial records, revealing details about his wildly popular Yeezy sneaker empire — and his fixation on outside validation.



When last we checked in with Kanye West, the mercurial hip-hop superstar-turned-footwear magnate, I was tiptoeing through a parking lot crop circle composed of hundreds of pairs of his Yeezy sneakers. “I’m not a numbers guy,” he explained ten months ago. “To ask me to somehow translate this to numbers is to ask your grandmother exactly what the recipe of the cake was.”



There’s only one number that West cares about. A billion, as in dollars. And he cares&nbsp;a lot.



When we featured West on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2019/07/09/kanyes-second-coming-inside-the-billion-dollar-yeezy-empire/">cover</a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;last summer, delving into his incredible success with Yeezy, he seemed pleased at first. His world-famous wife, Kim Kardashian West, even&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/1148660167254274048?s=20" target="_blank">tweeted</a>&nbsp;her congratulations, to the positive affirmations of 32,300 of their closest Twitter friends.But without sufficient documentation on his unusual stake, versus just his word and industry guesstimates, we didn’t call him a billionaire. And that grated on him.&nbsp;As the year wore on, he protested&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/christian-genius-billionaire-kanye-west-talks-2024-presidential-candidacy-moving-yeezy-stateside-1253358" target="_blank">publicly</a>. (“I showed them a $890 million receipt, and they still didn’t say ‘billionaire,’” he told an industry panel, about something that no one at&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;remembers.) In private, he was more biting. (A “disrespectful article,” he texted this week, that was “purposely snubbing me.”)



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="783" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Kanye-on-forbes-783x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-44642" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Kanye-on-forbes-783x1024.jpg 783w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Kanye-on-forbes-300x392.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Kanye-on-forbes-600x784.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Kanye-on-forbes-229x300.jpg 229w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Kanye-on-forbes-768x1004.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Kanye-on-forbes.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 783px) 100vw, 783px" /><figcaption>After months of requests, the hip-hop superstar shared his financial records, revealing details on his wildly popular Yeezy sneakers empire—and his own net worth. &nbsp;JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES</figcaption></figure>



When our annual&nbsp;<a href="http://www.forbes.com/billionaires">billionaires list</a>&nbsp;appeared earlier this month, again with West absent—still no documentation, and now a pandemic to boot—West again reacted with hurt and venom. “You know what you’re doing,” he texted. “You’re toying with me and I’m not finna lye [sic] down and take it anymore in Jesus name.” At one point, he texted that&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;was “purposely a part of a group of media” that was trying to suppress his self-made narrative because of his race.&nbsp;That sister-in-law Kylie Jenner did make the list also clearly stuck in his craw.



Then yesterday, a breakthrough: West directed his team to provide what we feel is an authentic numeric look into Kanye, Inc.



Three things became clear from this exercise. First, it reinforces why we put him on the cover in the first place—West, in just a few years, has created a brand that’s challenging Nike’s Air Jordan for sneaker world supremacy. It’s one of the great retail stories of the century.



Second, it reinforced that West, who claims both in words and in this paperwork that he’s worth more than $3 billion, is as overly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2015/09/29/inside-the-epic-fantasy-thats-driven-donald-trump-for-33-years/#225d05ca2037">boastful</a>&nbsp;as his political idol, President Donald Trump. Not a numbers guy? We agree.



Finally, and perhaps most critically to West, it does confirm, based on our estimates, that his stake in Yeezy indeed makes him a billionaire. A bit over $1 billion, actually.



In the process, we can now share more details about Yeezy than ever before revealed—as well as some insight into what drives this extremely creative, extremely enigmatic ten-digit artist.



Yeezy is a complicated asset. West owns 100% of it. But it’s functionally tied, at least for five-plus years based on the documents we saw, to Adidas, which produces, markets and distributes the shoes. There’s also a separate apparel division that we don’t believe makes money. Last year, our sources projected the shoes would finish 2019 with revenue north of $1.5 billion (Adidas would not comment then, or now)—per recent conversations and internal documents, we believe the final revenue number ended up closer to $1.3 billion.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="How Kanye West Became A Billionaire | Forbes" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JRc5VhdMiRk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



Our sources told us last year that West’s agreement calls for him to receive a royalty around 15% of Yeezy revenue from Adidas. Upon closer inspection, it appears some expenses are carved out of that slice, bringing his actual cut closer to 11%. At that rate, he would have received royalties of over $140 million from Yeezy sales last year.&nbsp;



West’s aggressive $3 billion self-appraisal is clearly based on the idea that the business is infinitely portable. It’s not. Taking Yeezy away from Adidas seems almost prohibitively cumbersome, if not contractually impossible. A safer way to value it: as a royalty stream, like music publishing or film residuals. Multiples, based on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2019/05/08/royalty-exchange-cardi-b-jay-z-beyonce-timberlake/#6fd9ea346364">services</a>&nbsp;like Royalty Exchange or in large private transactions, can be as low as three for something faddish like Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” to 17 for an evergreen asset like the Eddie Murphy film&nbsp;Trading Places.&nbsp;



A handful of experts surveyed felt West’s interest would fetch a multiple somewhere in the middle of that range, were it ever made available to outside investors. The convenience of the Adidas setup trumps publishing catalogs, where owners must actively collect payments from a complex web of sources—or outsource that labor to someone else in exchange for an administration fee. “His place in the capital stack is a preferred place to be,” says Royalty Exchange chief Matt Smith, who pegged the multiple at between 10 and 12.



Conservatively, as we typically are with such figures, a 10x multiple, applied to West’s Yeezy cut of $140 million, makes his stake worth about $1.4 billion. But that’s a private, highly illiquid $1.4 billion—our rule-of-thumb for private assets like that is to lop off at least 10%.&nbsp;That’s $1.26 billion.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezy-1024x785.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-44643" width="678" height="519" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezy-1024x785.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezy-300x230.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezy-600x460.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezy-768x588.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezy-1536x1177.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezy.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px" /></figure></div>



A handful of experts surveyed felt West’s interest would fetch a multiple somewhere in the middle of that range, were it ever made available to outside investors. The convenience of the Adidas setup trumps publishing catalogs, where owners must actively collect payments from a complex web of sources—or outsource that labor to someone else in exchange for an administration fee. “His place in the capital stack is a preferred place to be,” says Royalty Exchange chief Matt Smith, who pegged the multiple at between 10 and 12.



Conservatively, as we typically are with such figures, a 10x multiple, applied to West’s Yeezy cut of $140 million, makes his stake worth about $1.4 billion. But that’s a private, highly illiquid $1.4 billion—our rule-of-thumb for private assets like that is to lop off at least 10%.&nbsp;That’s $1.26 billion.



Customized real estate often sells for less than the money put in (buyers in that range tend to want their own features, versus Kanye’s Belgian plaster). If you want to start scraping, there’s $3,845,162 for “vehicles,” $297,050 for “livestocks.” Then there’s the matter of his music. Documents we reviewed show West’s G.O.O.D. label—and his own recorded music and publishing rights—to be worth at least $90 million.



We tend to look at self-appraisals somewhat skeptically.&nbsp;Aside from the music, half of all this presumably belongs to his wife, although she’s no slouch and that math goes two ways. Given the illiquidity of these myriad assets and the lack of independent backup, we’re giving all of this a 50% haircut, leaving about $125 million in assets outside of his Yeezy crown jewel.&nbsp;Then, there’s debt: Between mortgages, advances and other liabilities, we saw about $100 million that West is on the hook for.



All told, our current net worth estimate for Kanye West: $1.3 billion, which he’ll be pleased to note is $300 million more than little sister Kylie.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezys.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-44644" width="540" height="304" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezys.jpg 960w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezys-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezys-600x338.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/yeezys-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px" /></figure>



The chip on West’s shoulder dates back to his early days growing up in Chicago, where teachers sometimes scolded him for sketching sneaker designs instead of doing his schoolwork. He later produced songs for Jay-Z but felt the elder mogul didn’t view him seriously as a solo act. Over the past decade, West instigated more than his share of narcissistic episodes, including a self-appointed nickname, tour and album,&nbsp;Yeezus, that never seemed to treat his savior complex with much irony. (Typical song: “I Am A God.”)



When viewed through that lens, his famous affinity for President Trump makes a lot of sense. (And it continues unabated—one text to&nbsp;Forbes’ chief content officer this week ended with “Trump 2020” and a raised fist emoji.) As does West’s net worth lobbying—an art practiced, with gusto, for decades, by Trump.



“It’s not a billion,” West texted us last night. “It’s $3.3 billion since no one at&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;knows how to count.”



For years,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2018/04/20/the-5-things-to-know-about-president-trumps-36-year-relationship-with-the-forbes-400/">Forbes&nbsp;had an informal “Trump rule”</a>—take whatever the future president insisted he was worth, divide by 3, and start honing from there. Like mentor,&nbsp;like mentee. Welcome to the ten-digit club, Kanye. You may not like our number, but you’ve joined the highest company in that regard.&nbsp;



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/">Zack O&#8217;Malley Greenburg</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/hollywood-entertainment">Hollywood &amp; Entertainment</a>



Additional reporting by Randall Lane

gettyimages-486015708-594×594

Kanye West Is Now Officially A Billionaire—And He Really Wants The World To Know

Billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-branson/#d85d1306ff53">Sir Richard Branson</a>&nbsp;has responded to criticism over Virgin’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. In an open letter to “the Virgin family” Branson thanks his 70,000 staff and addresses “comments” on his “net worth” and the need for government money to support the businesses they work for.



Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic Branson has faced scrutiny after an early decision to ask Virgin airline staff to take eight weeks’ unpaid leave.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The move was met with a barrage of criticism, Richard Fuller the Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire since 2019 slammed Branson in Parliament, claiming that Branson should use his net worth to pay the unpaid leave and that it could be covered by the “interest on your wealth” claimed by Fuller at the time to be $3.8 billion, “for eight weeks.”



As Forbes pointed out at the time, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/2020/03/19/virgin-billionaire-branson-attacked-in-parliament-over-staff-pay-during-coronavirus-crisisbut-employees-remain-supportive/#6751ea833b8f">Mr Fuller’s estimation of Branson’s net worth assumes the £3.8 billion is a cash asset</a> that can gain interest sitting in a bank account. Branson’s net worth is compiled from a network of public and private investments. His current cash pile sits at £520 million ($600 million).



Branson responded to this in his letter: “I’ve seen lots of comments about my net worth–but that is calculated on the value of Virgin businesses around the world before this crisis, not sitting as cash in a bank account ready to withdraw. Over the years significant profits have never been taken out of the Virgin Group, instead they have been reinvested in building businesses that create value and opportunities. The challenge right now is that there is no money coming in and lots going out.”



Last month, Branson moved to protect the futures of his 70,000 employees announcing a $250 million rescue package. A spokesperson for Branson confirmed that the $250 million would come from “Richard and Virgin group” and would not be paid by Virgin Atlantic.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tax Trouble</h2>



On claims that Branson does not pay U.K. income and capital gains tax on his investment success, Branson uses the letter to address, “comments about my home.” Adding, “Joan and I did not leave Britain for tax reasons but for our love of the beautiful British Virgin Islands and in particular Necker Island, which I bought when I was 29 years old, as an uninhabited island on the edges of the BVI. Over time, we built our family home here. The rest of the island is run as a business, which employs 175 people. As with other Virgin assets, our team will raise as much money against the island as possible to save as many jobs as possible around the Group.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Government Money</h2>



Branson also gives the clearest indication yet that Virgin Atlantic desperately needs government money to survive this pandemic warning that “hundreds of thousands more jobs will be lost” across the sector.



He adds, “we will do everything we can to keep the airline going–but we will need government support to achieve that in the face of the severe uncertainty surrounding travel today and not knowing how long the planes will be grounded for.



“This would be in the form of a commercial loan–it wouldn’t be free money and the airline would pay it back.



“The reality of this unprecedented crisis is that many airlines around the world need government support and many have already received it. Without it there won’t be any competition left and hundreds of thousands more jobs will be lost, along with critical connectivity and huge economic value. Virgin Atlantic started with one plane 36 years ago. Over those years it has created real competition for British Airways, which must remain fierce for the benefit of our wonderful customers and the public at large.”



Last week Virgin Atlantic was told by the U.K. government to resubmit its proposal for a £500m coronavirus bailout package.



The Financial Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e2636703-acec-49ad-97b8-b944e032db1f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported that the UK government was left unimpressed with its initial bid</a>&nbsp;which included a $622 million (£500m) package of commercial loans and guarantees.



A government official told the FT that the Treasury was “unimpressed by the initial bid.”



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/">David Dawkins</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/worlds-billionaires">Billionaires</a>

gettyimages-1178649352-594×594

Billionaire Branson Asks For Government Money To Save Virgin Atlantic, Claims He ‘Did Not Leave Britain For Tax Reasons’

On Monday South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa revealed that South Africa’s richest families the Rupert and Oppenheimer families had each contributed R1 billion to assist small businesses and their employees affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Today the Motsepe family has contributed R1 billion ($57mn). See full statement below.



The Motsepe Family in partnership with companies and organisations that they are associated with, have pledged R1 billion to assist with the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its related challenges that are confronting South Africa and the African Continent.



These companies and organisations are:  Motsepe Foundation  Sanlam  African Rainbow Capital (ARC)  African Rainbow Minerals (ARM)  and others



The Founder and Chairman of the Motsepe Foundation, Dr Patrice Motsepe said: “Several hundred million rands will immediately be made available with the primary objective of saving lives and slowing and restraining the spread of the Coronavirus. We are purchasing sanitisers, disinfectants, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and are in discussions with Government, health workers and other stakeholders to assist with acquiring other equipment and making resources available which are essential for dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. We’ve been advised that access to water for regularly washing hands is crucial for slowing and limiting the spread of the Coronavirus. We are therefore providing water to poor rural and urban communities by purchasing water tanks (jojos), drilling and equipping for borehole water and also building sanitary facilities. The current lockdown has an impact on the goods, equipment and services that can be purchased immediately and the goods and services which can be provided when the lockdown has been terminated. Our short to medium term interventions include building additional classrooms, computer centers and laboratories in all the 9 provinces of South Africa to assist with the excessively high number of students per classroom in some schools; particularly in the context of the current Coronavirus pandemic and the social distancing requirements.



Those schools in the poor rural and urban areas which do not have internet access or facilities will be assisted with study guides, scientific calculators, dictionaries and other educational equipment and facilities identified in consultation with the Department of Basic Education, school principals and teachers. Poor and underdeveloped communities are ill-prepared to deal with the serious challenges and consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic and are in dire need of our assistance and contributions. We are committed to contribute to the provision of quality education, infrastructure and other facilities to better prepare and equip them to deal with future pandemics or catastrophes.”



We will be working in partnership with:  traditional leaders, kings, queens and their communities that we have been working with for the past 20 years;  the 34 Religious and Faith-Based organisations that participate in the annual Motsepe Foundation National Day of Prayer;  National, Provincial and Local Government authorities;  Trade Union and other Worker Representative organisations;  NGOs and other local community representative organisations;  sport organisations and entities;  local, provincial and national business and professional organisations;  black and white farmers and their representative organisations; and  other organisations or structures that can assist or partner with us in dealing with the current Coronavirus pandemic.



The CEO of Sanlam Ian Kirk said: “Sanlam has a rich history of always putting our people, our clients and our country first; hence our mantra of ‘Doing well, by doing Good’. Today, we’re proud of the partnership with the Motsepe Family and its associated companies. We believe these efforts will make a meaningful contribution not only towards fighting the Coronavirus, but also in developing the long-term sustainability of South Africans, particularly in poor and rural areas. Periods of profound uncertainty like these call for us to come together to support all the prudent actions that contain the scourge of this virus and its impact on our already fragile economy.”



The CEO of ARC Dr Johan van Zyl said: “As a nation we are in unchartered waters in terms of the scale and danger that the COVID19 pandemic presents to South Africans. It is now time for each and everyone of us to demonstrate leadership and help. ARC is a fairly young company with limited financial resources. Yet, it remains important that we make a contribution. In this regard we are partnering with companies and organisations with which we have common interests and share common values to ensure that the positive impact we aim to make is felt.” We have been in contact with various Ministers and MECs and will also be in contact with the Government’s Coronavirus Solidarity Fund to identify specific initiatives and projects where we can partner and work together. There may be upliftment and developmental undertakings where they are better positioned than we are, in which case we may fund or donate with them on a particular project or partnership.



We want to thank Government for their leadership and cooperation including health workers, police, soldiers, as well as Religious and Faith-Based organisations, traditional leaders, trade union and other worker representative organisations, NGOs and other rural and urban organisations. We also want to thank business and in particular the Rupert and Oppenheimer families, the employees, boards and stakeholders of the companies that the Motsepe Family is associated with, for their assistance and contributions in dealing with the current Coronavirus pandemic.



South Africans have a history of uniting and working together when confronted with major and enormous challenges. We are confident that South Africa will in the medium to long term overcome the life-threatening and economic challenges caused by the Coronavirus pandemic and continue to build a bright and inclusive future for the people of South Africa and the African continent.

gettyimages-1140486283-594×594

Motsepe Family & Associates Join Rupert And Oppenheimer Families In Donating R1 billion To Deal With COVID-19 Pandemic

One of only two female billionaires in Africa, with a net worth of $1 billion, Nigeria’s oil baroness Folorunso Alakija elaborates on the state of African entrepreneurship today. 



The 69-year-old Folorunso Alakija is vice chair of Famfa
Oil, a Nigerian oil exploration company with a stake in Agbami Oilfield, a
prolific offshore asset. Famfa Oil’s partners include Chevron and Petrobras.
Alakija’s first company was a fashion label. The Nigerian government awarded Alakija’s
company an oil prospecting license in 1993, which was later converted to an oil
mining lease. The Agbami field has been operating since 2008; Famfa Oil says it
will likely operate through 2024. Alakija shares her thoughts to FORBES AFRICA
on what makes tomorrow’s billionaires:



What is your take on the state of African entrepreneurship today? Is enough being done for young startups?



There are a lot of business opportunities in Africa that do
not exist in other parts of the world, yet Africa is seen as a poor continent.
The employment constraints in the formal sector in Africa have made it
impossible for it to meet the demands of the continent’s working population of
which over 60% are the youth. Therefore, it is imperative we harness the
potential of Africa’s youth to engage in entrepreneurship and provide adequate
assistance to enable them to succeed. 



Several governments have been working to provide a conducive
atmosphere which will promote entrepreneurship on the continent. However, there
is still a lot more to be done in ensuring that the potential of these young
entrepreneurs are maximized to the fullest. Some of the challenges young
startups in Africa face are as follows: lack of access to finance/insufficient
capital; lack of infrastructure; bureaucratic bottlenecks and tough business
regulations; inconsistent government policies; dearth of entrepreneurial
knowledge and skills; lack of access to information and competition from
cheaper foreign alternatives.



It is therefore imperative that governments,
non-governmental agencies, and the financial sectors work together to
ameliorate these challenges itemized above. 



The governments of African nations should provide and
strengthen its infrastructure (power, roads and telecom); they should encourage
budding entrepreneurs by ensuring that finance is available to businesses with
the potential for growth and also commit to further improving their business
environments through sustained investment; there must also be a constant push
for existing policies and legislation to be reviewed to promote business
activities. 



These policies must also be enforced, and punitive measures
put in place to deter offenders; government regulations should also be flexible
to constantly fit the dynamics of the business environment; corruption and
unethical behavior must be decisively dealt with and not treated with kid
gloves. We must empower our judicial system to enable them to prosecute erring
offenders with appropriate sanctions meted out. There should be no “sacred
cows” or “untouchables”. The same law must be applied to all, no matter their
state or position in the society; non-governmental organizations can also
provide support for them through training and skills acquisition programs that
will help build their capacity; they could also provide finance to grow their
businesses; more mentorship programs should be encouraged, and incubators of
young enterprises should be supported by public policy aimed at improving the
quality of these youths and their ventures; and also, avenues should be created
where young entrepreneurs will be able to connect, learn and share ideas with
already successful well-established entrepreneurs.



What, according to you, are the attributes needed for tomorrow’s billionaires?



There is no overnight success. You must start by dreaming
big and working towards achieving it. You must be determined to succeed despite
all odds. Do not allow your setbacks or failures to stop you but rather make
them your stepping stone. Develop your strengths to attain excellence and be
tenacious, never give up on your dream or aspiration. Your word must be your
bond. You must make strong ethical values and integrity your watchword. Always
act professionally and this will enable you to build confidence in your
customers and clients.&nbsp;

DK6Q2712b

How To Become A Billionaire: Nigeria’s Oil Baroness Folorunso Alakija On What Makes Tomorrow’s Billionaires

Less than two weeks after withdrawing from the presidential race, Mike Bloomberg&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.org/press/releases/michael-r-bloomberg-accelerates-fight-against-global-coronavirus-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;Tuesday that his Bloomberg Philanthropies is launching what it’s calling the Coronavirus Global Response Initiative, a $40 million plan to combat the spread of the coronavirus in vulnerable low and middle-income countries.



Bloomberg&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBloomberg/status/1239873212105752577" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;that the new initiative will particularly focus on Africa, which has 417 confirmed COVID-19 cases and seven deaths across the continent as of March 17.&nbsp;



The new plan comes just days after the three-term New York City mayor <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.bloomberg.org/press/releases/michael-r-bloomberg-to-help-city-leaders-respond-to-coronavirus-in-the-united-states/" target="_blank">announced</a> the Coronavirus Local Response Initiative, which will mobilize mayors across the U.S. to fight the pandemic and keep their cities safe by providing them with virtual technical assistance, coaching, and accurate information. The first virtual meeting will take place on March 19, where more than 180 cities are expected to join experts from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.



“I know from my experience as mayor of New York City that giving public health professionals the tools to protect the public is vital to saving lives,” said Bloomberg in a statement, “and to help mitigate the kind of economic and social damage that could make this crisis even more debilitating for families and communities.”



The international initiative, which will work alongside The Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation’s response to the virus in developing countries, will fund rapid response teams that will prevent and detect infections, train healthcare workers on the ground to control infections, develop lab networks to manage and transport specimens to central laboratories for diagnosis; measure acceptance and impact of containment strategies, provide communications support such as public education campaigns and provide technical expertise to global and regional health organizations.



Bloomberg’s tenure as the Mayor of New York City included fighting outbreaks in the U.S. such as the swine flu in 2009, which infected 60.8 million people and the outbreak of West Nile virus in 2012, which infected 5,674 people.



In a March 1 television ad for his campaign, Bloomberg addressed the country’s lack of preparedness for the then-epidemic, stating that “at times like this, it’s the job of the President to reassure the public that he or she is taking all the necessary steps to protect the health and well-being of every citizen.” He went on, “They want him or her to prepare for events like these in advance with teams of experts.”



Since then, the World Health Organization has declared the virus a global pandemic that has infected 196,000 people around the world and killed nearly 7,900. In its statement, Bloomberg Philanthropies will partner with Dr. Tom Frieden, a former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and currently president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of global health organization Vital Strategies, along with the World Health Organization (WHO) to mitigate the virus.



“We have a window of time to partner with Ministries of Health in sub-Saharan Africa to protect their population from a disease that could kill through both infections and disruption of health services,” said Frieden.



Forbes estimates that Bloomberg, who is currently worth $45 billion and is the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwang/2020/01/20/from-buffett-to-bloomberg-the-25-philanthropists-in-america-making-the-biggest-donations/#7925b8904e8f">fourth biggest philanthropist in America</a> has given away billions of dollars in recent years with a focus on climate change and global public health initiatives, including a $1.8 billion pledge to Johns Hopkins University, his alma mater. Bloomberg Philanthropies says it distributed at least $3.3 billion last year.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliesachmechi/">Natalie Sachmechi</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/worlds-billionaires">Billionaires</a>

gettyimages-1204961199-594×594

Mike Bloomberg Announces $40 Million Plan To Combat Coronavirus In Developing Countries

MacKenzie Bezos is an author, an early Amazon employee, a billionaire — and isn’t talking.



MacKenzie Bezos was not fussy, which was helpful, as there
was no time for fussiness at Amazon headquarters in early 1996. She shared her
office with a junior employee in a space that doubled as the company kitchen.
For 12 hours a day, as workers squeezed by to use the microwave, she presided
over the accounting. At night she headed to the warehouse to pack orders. She
“was a huge contributor,” says Mike Hanlon, Amazon’s seventh employee. “She
really is a talented person in a way that I think gets lost when you’re the
billionaire’s wife.”



The mystery around MacKenzie, 49, seems carefully
cultivated. She largely slipped into anonymity after Amazon’s early years and
has granted no interviews since January 2019, when her split from husband Jeff
became public. 



The couple finalized their divorce in July, with MacKenzie getting 25% of his Amazon stock. That stake is currently worth $36.1 billion, enough to put her 15th on 2019’s Forbes 400. “She should have gotten 50% of the company,” says Nick Hanauer, one of Amazon’s first investors. “MacKenzie was an equal partner to Jeff in the early days.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.forbeswomanafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/FO103119_067-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-41575"/><figcaption>NEW YORK CITY, NY &#8211; NOVEMBER 5: Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos attend The Aspen Institute 26th Annual Awards Dinner at The Plaza Hotel on November 5, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by MAX RAPP/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



In keeping with character, MacKenzie wouldn’t talk for this
story. To shed some light on her, we spent weeks contacting more than 100
friends and former classmates and coworkers; even that yielded only a hazy
picture, one of an intensely private but talented woman who has, quietly,
excelled at every stage of her life.



MacKenzie grew up in San Francisco, a middle child with two
siblings. At six, she wrote a 142-page book called The Book Worm. Her parents,
a homemaker and a financial planner, sent her to Hotchkiss, the Connecticut
boarding school, where she graduated a year early. She studied at Cambridge,
then Princeton, where she majored in English; Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni
Morrison was her thesis advisor. “She was generally a very poised and a quiet
and brilliant presence,” says Jeff Nunokawa, one of her English professors. 



After graduating, she took a job at the hedge fund D.E. Shaw, where she began dating Jeff Bezos, who left to found Amazon in 1994. From the outset, MacKenzie was heavily involved. “No one really had job titles . . . so she did just about everything,” says Tod Nelson, another early employee.



READ MORE: <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2019/05/28/mackenzie-bezos-will-donate-half-her-fortune-to-charity/">MacKenzie Bezos Will Donate Half Her Fortune To Charity</a>



MacKenzie pulled back around the time Amazon went public, in
1997, to focus on fiction writing. She kept a low profile until 2005, when
HarperCollins published her first novel, The Testing of Luther Albright.



Morrison deemed it “a rarity.” MacKenzie followed it in 2013 with Traps. The more recent chapters of her life are largely unknown. In 2018 she and Jeff committed $2 billion to fight homelessness and support nonprofit preschools. In May, as their divorce neared completion, she signed the Giving Pledge, promising to donate at least half her wealth. True to form, she hasn’t said a word about where those billions will go.



&#8211;Noah Kirsch, Forbes Staff, Media

FO103119_068

New Billionaire Ghost Writer: The Mystery Around MacKenzie Bezos

Bill Ackman panicked about the coronavirus early on.



The billionaire investor had a nightmare about COVID-19 in late January, which might as well have been the plot of the pandemic thriller&nbsp;Contagion. When he woke up, he started prepping.



He began arranging for his firm’s fifty employees to abandon their midtown Manhattan offices. He put on doomsday hedges. And then he pulled an enormous amount of cash from an ATM. By the time the Dow Jones Industrial Average was plunging seemingly a thousand points a day, Ackman’s $5.6 billion firm was making money amid the chaos.



So when he woke on Wednesday morning, Ackman didn’t have a pleasant message for America. He took to Twitter to recommend <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2020/03/18/hedge-fund-billionaire-bill-ackman-calls-for-30-day-shutdown-of-country-closing-of-borders-to-curb-covid-19-spread/#4d6686425571">a shutdown of the country</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Mr. President, the only answer is to shut down the country for the next 30 days and close the borders. Tell all Americans that you are putting us on an extended Spring Break at home with family. Keep only essential services open. The government pays wages until we reopen.&mdash; Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1240244507246919681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Then he called into&nbsp;CNBC&nbsp;around noontime to elaborate. And it was bad.



“Hell is coming,” said Ackman, in a frenzied 28-minute interview. “Shut it down now,” he said of the economy, “There is a tsunami coming.”



Ackman recommended President Trump effectively close the country for 30 days and shut the borders to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Yes, it would mean an economic disaster, so Ackman recommended that Trump call a national ‘Spring Break’ and have the government pay wages, halt foreclosures, and help with other monthly bills like rent to tide people over.



This way Americans will stay at home and the virus will stop spreading.



If not, Ackman warned in an emotional interview that verged on panic, the country will experience a prolonged pandemic, which will put many industries ranging from hotels, to restaurants, to real estate out of business.



“What’s scaring the American people and corporate America now is the gradual roll-out,” said Ackman, of containment and distancing measures. “Capitalism does not work in an 18-month shutdown, capitalism can work in a 30-day shutdown.”



The hedge fund manager, turned amateur health expert, said the contagiousness of the virus may mean millions will die without drastic measures. He choked up when talking about the risks of the disease to his elderly father, and revealed that some of his employees may have the virus.



“The only shared sacrifice that is going on right now is the healthcare community, the nurses, the doctors, the people taking care of patients,” said Ackman. “The president is not saying storm the beaches of Normandy,” he said, hypothetically, of his 30-day shutdown proposal. “He’s saying go home, spend a month with your family.”



When Ackman turned to his portfolio and the rest of Wall Street, his warnings were dire.



“Hilton is the canary in the coal mine,” said Ackman of the hotelier, which is one of his larger holdings. Without quicker action, “it’s going to zero along with every other hotel company,” he predicted. Though, he did say his Pershing Square was buying shares of Hilton as markets plunged on Wednesday morning.



“I have enormous respect for KKR and Blackstone,” Ackman added of the two illustrious private equity firms, before predicting their leveraged deals would be toast if there isn’t a quick solution within the next 18-months. “[E]very one of their companies goes bankrupt,” he said.



After the interview,&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;has learned Ackman called Blackstone and said he’s buying the firm’s shares.



His ideas were boundless: He recommended Elon Musk convert Tesla’s car-making factories into ventilator-making factories.



As he spoke, the market plunged, tick-by-tick.



The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 1,000 points when he went on air. It hit a circuit breaker as he spouted dark doom and gloom, then closed for 15 minutes. When it reopened, it was down 2,000-plus.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Ackman just halted the market.&mdash; Nathan Michaud (@InvestorsLive) <a href="https://twitter.com/InvestorsLive/status/1240321527024844804?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Some on Twitter took Ackman’s dire warnings as necessary.



His “shut it down now” idea, increasingly, is becoming the pandemic playbook for cities either implementing or considering “shelter-in-place” laws. And, in recent days and weeks, health experts have responded positively to market-tanking warnings by public officials about the virus.



Many commended President Trump for talking about the gravity of the pandemic earlier in March, even though it was the catalyst for a sudden market drop. Before Ackman went on air, Dr. Deborah Birx, the head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said many people, particularly young people, are not taking the pandemic seriously enough. Her message to millennials? You can die from this.



However, others saw a panicked billionaire investor talking down the market and inciting fear.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Please get Ackman off CNBC before people start jumping off bridges. <a href="https://twitter.com/CNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNBC</a>&mdash; Mike Novogratz (@novogratz) <a href="https://twitter.com/novogratz/status/1240321462621351936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Ackman then went back on Twitter to clarify his intentions. “These are the bargains of a lifetime if we manage this crisis correctly,” he said.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Some investors have been confused by remarks. To clarify, I am confident the president will do the right thing in temporarily shutting down the country and closing the borders. If that happens, we can win the war against the virus and the markets and the economy will soar.&mdash; Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1240351178933895169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



 You can watch Ackman’s CNBC interview in full here. (Pershing Square declined to comment further.)



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Watch the full interview with Bill Ackman on the coronavirus threat to economy — &#39;Shut it down now&#39; <a href="https://t.co/nSDK8lwKec">https://t.co/nSDK8lwKec</a>&mdash; CNBC (@CNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1240339659709915138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/">Antoine Gara</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/banking-insurance">Banking &amp; Insurance</a>

gettyimages-862490824-594×594

The Billionaire Interview That Tanked The Stock Market

Topline:&nbsp;Following his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders over the weekend, billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC in an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/warren-buffet-interview-live-updates.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interview</a>&nbsp;on Monday that the coronavirus is “scary stuff” for businesses and investors, but that the outbreak has “not changed” his long-term optimistic outlook on stocks.



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Stocks plunged on Monday, with all three major U.S. benchmark indexes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/02/24/markets-plunge-dow-drops-900-points-as-global-coronavirus-outbreak-worsens/#353cf5f46658">losing more than 3%</a>, as a rising number of coronavirus cases outside of China stoked fears that the outbreak could turn into a global pandemic.</li><li>Speaking with CNBC on Monday morning, Buffett <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-berkshire-buffett/warren-buffett-calls-coronavirus-outbreak-scary-stuff-but-says-he-wont-be-selling-stocks-idUSKCN20I1AB" target="_blank">called</a> the coronavirus “scary stuff,” saying that the outbreak is now “front and center” the main threat to U.S. companies and the economy.</li><li>He further <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/warren-buffett-says-us-economy-is-strong-but-a-little-softer-than-it-was-6-months-ago.html" target="_blank">warned</a> that a “very significant percentage” of Berkshire Hathaway’s businesses—it owns more than 90, from American Express and Coca-Cola to Geico and Dairy Queen—could “very well” be negatively impacted by the coronavirus, though he remains optimistic about their long-term prospects.</li><li>More broadly, Buffett said that the U.S. economy is <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/warren-buffett-says-us-economy-is-strong-but-a-little-softer-than-it-was-6-months-ago.html" target="_blank">still “strong,”</a> though it had become “a little softer” than it was six months ago: “Business is down but it’s down from a very good level,” he described. </li><li>Despite the coronavirus’ impact on markets, Buffett, who is famous for his long-term  investing, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/warren-buffett-doesnt-worry-how-current-events-will-affect-the-market.html" target="_blank">said</a> that investors shouldn’t panic by selling stocks based or get caught up in “today’s headlines.” </li><li>The Oracle of Omaha actually sees a positive in the ongoing market sell-off, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/warren-buffet-interview-live-updates.html" target="_blank">telling</a> CNBC that Berkshire Hathaway would “certainly be more inclined” to buy stocks at the lower prices caused by the coronavirus.</li></ul>



 What to watch for: Buffett also <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/warren-buffett-says-apple-is-probably-the-best-business-i-know-in-the-world.html" target="_blank">spoke</a> to CNBC about some of his favorite investments right now. He called Apple, which is Berkshire Hathaway’s third-largest holding (with a roughly 5.5% stake) behind insurance and railroad companies, “probably the best business I know in the world.” Buffett added that he especially likes bank stocks, which are a big part of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio—with big names like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America among its top holdings. Buffett <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/warren-buffet-interview-live-updates.html" target="_blank">called</a> banks “very attractive compared to most other securities I see.”  



Surprising fact:&nbsp;Buffett also recently spoke about the coronavirus to his “science advisor,” billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates: “I talked to him in the last few days about it, and he’s bullish on the long-term outlook for a universal prevention of it,” he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/warren-buffet-interview-live-updates.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>.



Crucial quote: “We’re buying businesses to own for 20 or 30 years,” Buffett, who Forbes estimates has a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/warren-buffett/#3a87d5e14639">net worth</a> of $87.3 billion, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/warren-buffet-interview-live-updates.html" target="_blank">said</a> on CNBC. “We think the 20- and 30-year outlook is not changed by the coronavirus.”



Key background:&nbsp;Stocks&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/02/24/markets-plunge-dow-drops-900-points-as-global-coronavirus-outbreak-worsens/#353cf5f46658">plummeted sharply</a>&nbsp;on Monday, amid news that the coronavirus outbreak has now infected more than 79,000 people globally and killed over 2,600. The number of cases outside of China surged over the weekend, causing concern among global investors as countries like Italy, South Korea and Iran emerge as new coronavirus hot spots. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 1,000 points, dropping 3.5% for its worst day since February 2018. The S&amp;P 500 similarly fell 3.5%, its worst drop since October 2018. Monday’s sell-off completely erased both indexes’ gains so far in 2020. The Nasdaq Composite index, on the other hand, declined 4%.&nbsp;



Tangent:&nbsp;Buffett was also asked about U.S. politics during his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/buffett-on-bernie-sanders-us-can-do-better-for-those-left-behind-but-cannot-kill-capitalism.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interview</a>. The billionaire investor said he would “certainly” vote for Mike Bloomberg. “I don’t think another billionaire supporting him would be the best thing to announce,” Buffet&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/buffett-on-bernie-sanders-us-can-do-better-for-those-left-behind-but-cannot-kill-capitalism.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>, “but sure, I would have no trouble voting for Mike Bloomberg.” While he said he sympathizes with Democratic front-runner Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) message about income inequality, Buffett doesn’t think socialism is the answer,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/buffett-on-bernie-sanders-us-can-do-better-for-those-left-behind-but-cannot-kill-capitalism.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">saying instead</a>, “I don’t believe in giving up the capitalist system.”



Further reading: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/02/22/buffetts-letter-to-berkshire-shareholders-reveals-5-billion-in-stock-buybacks-and-plans-for-his-berkshire-stake/#140c5c2d39d4">Buffett’s Letter To Berkshire Shareholders Reveals $5 Billion In Stock Buybacks And Plans For His Berkshire Stake</a> 



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/">Sergei Klebnikov</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/markets">Markets</a>.

Tag: Billionaire

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA