Dwindling Billionaires

By Jennifer Hopfinger
March 25, 2009 07:24 PM

If it’s any consolation, “the richest people in the world have gotten poorer, just like the rest of us,” according to Forbes magazine. The average net worth of the world’s billionaires fell percent in the last year. But it’s hard to feel sorry for them - they are, after all, still billionaires. The magazine published its annual list of billionaires in the March 30th cover story, “Billionaire Bust.” And it’s a smaller list this year - there are 373 fewer of them today than there were a year ago--but more of them are Americans this year. More evidence that when the U.S. catches a cold, the rest of the world gets pneumonia.

So maybe the changing fortunes of the uber-rich are illustrative. Last year’s biggest gainer became this year’s biggest loser--India's Anil Ambani lost $32 billion, or 76 percent of his wealth - after shares of his telecom company plummeted. India’s billionaire’s club lost 29 members, and all but one of the remaining 24 are less wealthy. But Russia lost even more--the country has 55 fewer billionaires, or two-thirds of what it had in 2008 - largely because of the commodity bust. According to the magazine, Moscow had been the billionaire capital of the world a year ago, but New York City has reclaimed the title.

“So is there anywhere one can still make a fortune these days? The 38 newcomers offer a few clues,” the article says. “Among the more notable new billionaires are Mexican Joaquín Guzmán Loera, one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine to the U.S.; Wang Chuanfu of China, whose BYD Co. began selling electric cars in December, and American John Paul Dejoria, who got the world clean with his Paul Mitchell shampoos and sloppy with his Patrón Tequila.” Illustrative indeed.

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Copyright © 2009 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism