World’s wealthiest families witness growth, despite Covid-19

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The dynastic wealth globally witnessed a major uptick owing to liquidity growth, rising stock markets and accommodative tax measures. According to a report in Bloomberg, from last year there has been a 22% increase of the worth of the world’s 25 richest families at $1.7 trillion. Among the world’s richest, top rank is taken by the Waltons of Arkansas, who own almost half of the retailer Walmart Inc. They have topped the list for the fourth year with a net worth of $238.2 billion. The family has sold $6 billion worth of stock since February. Their wealth grew by $23 billion in the past 12 months.

The richest families list included new entrants like Dassaults of France, a third-generation technology and aviation empire, and the New York-based Lauders of cosmetics-maker Estee Lauder.

While Lees, the family owners of South Korea’s Samsung got dropped off from the list. The family had paid an $11 billion inheritance tax after last year’s death of patriarch Lee Kun-hee.

The wealth of the family stewards of Hermes increased by 75% to $111.6 billion. The rise in dynastic wealth has also demonstrated a widening wealth gap, worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a global wealth index, Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, India’s Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries, is at 12th position in the list of the world’s richest men, which is topped by the likes of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault and Bill Gates. Ambani joined the elite club of businesspersons with a net worth of more than $100 billion. The list also includes Gautam Adani who is the chairman and founder of the Adani group.