For years, we’ve been told by big companies that we should all have a ‘rainy day fund’ and that if you don’t have three months' wages in the bank, you simply aren’t financially responsible enough.
So, it’s a little odd to see so many of the biggest companies in the world now demanding bailouts and help from the governments of the world because they lack the fund to see out the COVID-19 crisis.
And while many normal working people are suffering big time from this most recent development, it’s not only the 99%.
For once, the 1% seems to be suffering a touch as well – and not just the 1%, but the 1% of the 1%. This comes from the news that COVID-19 has seen the twenty richest billionaires on the planet see something like $300bn vanish within a single month.
In total, around $293bn has been wiped off the fortunes of the 20 richest people on the planet.
Indeed, in mid-February, the Dow Jones reached an all-time high, meaning that the top 20 were worth $1.4tn in finance. Now, that is only $1.1tn. This comes from the fact that Dow and the S&P dropped 12% and 13% in one single day.
Jeff Bezos was Left Alone
Some of the biggest names in the business world are on that list, including the likes of Bernard Arnault, who is the CEO and chairman of LVMH.
Having seen his own fortune lose $29.6bn alone since the middle of February, his company has now pivoted from making cosmetics to making hand sanitizers.
With LVMH stock down by just under one third, this shows a broader drip in the market that many major companies are going through. The biggest loser in sheer numbers, though, is Mukesh Ambani.
Ambani is a major name in the Indian business scene and is behind energy giant Reliance Industries. He has seen something close to $38.6bn be wiped out.
The wipeout has been so severe that Jeff Bezos is the only remaining person with over $100bn after Bill Gates witnessed a $5.8bn wipeout that seen his fortune drop to a mere $97.8bn.
However, with Bezos seeing a drop-off of some $25.6bn since February, he’s also beginning to feel the pinch as it were.
So, for once, at least we can look and say that it isn’t just ‘the little guy’ that is witnessing the impact of a major economic downturn. For once, it seems to be hitting everyone – rich or poor.