China’s super-rich get $1.5trillion richer as Covid pandemic creates 257 new billionaires despite global slump
CHINA'S wealthiest people have earned $1.5 trillion during the coronavirus pandemic despite the global slump caused by the crisis.
During the last year, 257 more people have become billionaires in the country, according to an annual rich list published today.
Covid-19 is estimated to have triggered the worst global slump since the Great Depression and has already cost millions of working people their jobs.
But despite the crisis, Chinese billionaires have cashed in as their fortunes bloated during the pandemic.
It is believed their wealth increased particularly because e-commerce and gaming boomed while most of the world was in lockdown.
The record $1.5 trillion earned by the super-rich is more than the amount they earned over the past five years combined.
On Monday data showed the economy expanded 4.9 per cent in the third quarter even though ordinary workers and fresh graduates are struggling to find jobs.
The urban jobless rate inched down to 5.4 per cent in September, although analysts have warned of higher unemployment than officially reported this year.
It was previously revealed that only nine of the world's top 100 richest billionaires have made money during the coronavirus pandemic - and all of them are Chinese.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The rest lost a combined total of $400billion (£325bn) as the coronavirus crisis sends world markets into free fall.
Official figures show China has recorded 85,704 Covid-19 cases and 4,634 deaths since the start of the pandemic.