[OPE] Spare a thought for the super-rich, part 2

Japan:

Japan's 40 wealthiest businesspeople are worth $89.9 billion, up $10.7
billion from last year. An impressive gain but one that masks an uneven year
for the country's tycoons. Twenty people are richer than last year,
including eight of the top 10, helped by the yen's double-digit gain against
the U.S. dollar. Six added more than $1 billion apiece to their fortunes.
http://express.kurdblogger.com/34467/

Russia:

Russia's super-rich are also super-losers in the financial crisis, according
to the business magazine Finans, which estimates the top 10 wealthiest
Russians lost about two-thirds of their fortunes over the past year. (...)
Russia's stock markets lost 70 per cent of their value last year, while the
national currency has lost 35 per cent since the summer.
 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10557271http://news.therecord.com/article/488779
The entire Top 10 was estimated to be worth $75.9 billion by the end of 2008 compared with $221 billion the previous year. The total number of billionaires in Russia has also more than halved as a result of the financial crisis, from 101 last year to 49 now,the lowest number since 2005.Finans acknowledged that the situation could be even worse for some oligarchs because share prices had continued to fall since the league table was compiled. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5741827

China:

The combined worth of the country's 400 richest people has plummeted by 40% to a mere $173bn (107bn pounds) since last year, new research hasshown.That has slashed the number of Chinese billionaires from 66 in 2007 to just 24. It would have been even lower without the Yuan's rise against the dollar. A 60% plunge in the Chinese stock market and 50% drop in Hong Kong shares has wiped hundreds of millions of dollars off the biggest fortunes.The top 40 lost an even larger proportion of their wealth - $68bn,or 57% - according to Forbes magazine, which compiles the rich list annually. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/31/china-marketturmoil

India:

 India's truly rich suffered a momentous fall in wealth in 2008.According to Forbes, in February there were almost 50 billionaires in India,worth $278.By November the wealth of this group had fallen to $116 billion,and many were no longer billionaires. Is this cause for concern or celebration? Let's put the numbers in perspective. In 1996 there were only two billionaires,worth $3 billion, amongst Indians living in India. By 2001,the number hadrisen to 4, worth $14 billion. And even after the fall in 2008 the totalwealth of billionaires was still above the 2006 level. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/column-indias-billionaires/417782/ On the Indian market, entrepreneurs in real estate, infrastructure, financial services, and housing and construction have been among thebiggestlosers. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24952719-5018624,00.html

Video: http://www.foxbusiness.com/video-search/m/21723107/billionaire-s-view-on-2009.htm

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Received on Tue Feb 17 16:21:14 2009