Australia’s billionaires became 50% richer during pandemic
Australian billionaires combined wealth is 52.4% higher than the same period last year.
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Your support makes all the difference.The wealth of Australia’s billionaires has skyrocketed by more than 50 per cent over the past year, newly released figures show.
When strict coronavirus lockdown conditions were implemented in March the net worth of the wealthiest members of society dipped, but has since resurged, as reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Despite the pandemic causing widespread economic misery for many, Australian billionaires combined wealth is 52.4% higher than the same period last year.
This compares favourably to the ultra-rich in United States (27.3 per cent), UK (23.9 per cent) and Canada (19.7 per cent). The lowest increase recorded by the index was Mexico at 6.6 per cent.
Andrew Leigh, Labor’s shadow assistant minister for Treasury, told The Guardian: “Those increases are remarkable. Any of your readers would be punching the air if they had enjoyed a 20% increase in their wealth, and they would be double fist-pumping the air if they had a 50% increase, and yet that’s the story for the typical Australian billionaire.”
The frontbencher said the figures “remind us of the importance of tackling inequality, which is significantly higher in Australia than it was a generation ago”.
Mr Leigh added on his Twitter account that the country is “in the first recession in a generation” and shared the graph showing the “whopping” increase in wealth for the country’s richest.
Bloomberg calculates the personal wealth of billionaires using changes to the market and economy.
Australia has been one of the more successful countries in battling the pandemic after having robust and strict policy interventions. It’s levels of infections and deaths are far lower than other large economies, such as the US or UK.
However a recent outbreak in Sydney has meant a raft of new public health restrictions over the festive period, including limits on holidays gatherings.
Australia has recorded 909 deaths and 28,300 cases since the pandemic began.
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