For the global economy, the year gone by was an unmitigated disaster, but Covid-19 did not stop capitalism from notching up a few records. In August, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos accumulated a record net worth of $200 billion and became richer than 140 countries. The same month, Apple crossed $2 trillion in market capitalisation.
By October, the combined wealth of dollar billionaires stood at $10.2 trillion, a 70 per cent increase over the past three years. The world’s 500 richest people collectively gained $1.3 trillion this year, with Elon Musk alone adding more than $100 billion. But, for millions of ordinary people, the year was a nightmare. Thousands of migrant labourers in India had to walk hundreds of miles to their villages. The heartbreaking picture of a father holding his child and clinging on to an overcrowded truck in a desperate attempt to reach home was a stark reminder of our unequal world. A World Bank report released in October estimates that the pandemic will push 11 crore people to extreme poverty as we say goodbye to 2020.
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