For the first time since 2018, the number of global billionaires fell last year as the war in Ukraine, surging inflation, and U.S./China strain caused worldwide economic volatility. The billionaire population slumped by 3.5% to 3,194 people, who lost $11.1 trillion in wealth, according to the annual billionaire census by data company Altrata. The census is based on data from the Wealth-X database, the world’s largest collection of research on the wealthy.
The slump comes after a surge in billionaire wealth in the first two years of the pandemic. From 2020–2021, the world’s top 1% gained $28 trillion in wealth, an Oxfam report found, and U.S. billionaires became a third richer. Part of this was because the stock market boomed in 2021 from low interest rates and high government spending.
