The new coronavirus outbreak has so far taken the lives of more than 3,000 people worldwide, putting fear and anxiety in the minds of billionaires. This week, the world’s 500 richest people lost a combined $444 billion as the coronavirus continued to spread.
According to Bloomberg, fear of the virus cut $30 billion from the combined wealth of the world’s three richest people, such as founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and luxury goods company LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault.
The world’s 25th richest person, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, rang up one of the largest weekly losses at $9 billion. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is also on the list, having lost as much as $ 6.5 billion.
Global stocks slumped on Friday, marking the largest weekly drop since the 2008 global financial crisis, as concerns grew that the virus spread could wreak havoc on the world economy.
China’s economic slump may cause a 6% contraction in its first-quarter gross domestic product. China’s manufacturing sector’s activity was at a record low in February due to the new coronavirus epidemic.
According to a report by Turkey's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, COVID-19 will cause a possible shrinking of China's textile and garment industry – for a country that is a huge exporter for global brands – and this may drive those brands toward Turkey, increasing the importance of cotton growing in the country.
