Rich pickings: 2018’s billionaire winners and losers
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was the biggest gainer for the second year running
The markets may be tanking, but that hasn’t stopped plenty of mega-fortunes from being unearthed in 2018. The popularity of Fortnite, the phenomenon that forced some into video-game rehab, gave gamemaker Tim Sweeney a $7.2bn fortune this year. Autry Stephens has $11.4bn after his closely held Endeavour Energy Resources attracted bids that valued the oil company at as much as $15bn.
“It was a good year for wealth creation,“ said Michael Zeuner, managing partner of WE Family Offices. “It was a tough year in financial markets, but for people who are creating wealth through companies, the economy itself is very strong.” Sweeney and Stephens were just two of the 31 individuals who vaulted onto the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in 2018, even as increasing global trade tensions and a downdraft in the markets saw half a trillion dollars of wealth on the ranking wiped out. Denise Coates, the British founder and CEO of online bookmaker Bet365 Group, is another addition. Coates is nearly ...
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