The world’s five richest people lost over $8.7 billion this week in a global stock selloff sparked by weak factory data in China and a flareup in tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos led decliners on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in the first trading day of 2016, losing $3.7 billion as the world’s largest online retailer fell 5.8 percent. His net worth is now $56 billion. Spain’s Amancio Ortega dropped $2.5 billion to $70.4 billion as his Inditex SA, the biggest fashion retailer, fell 3.5 percent. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett, Mexico’s Carlos Slim and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, the richest person on the planet, lost a combined $2.5 billion.
