UBS and PwC's recent report on billionaire wealth highlights some interesting trends about the global economy and global wealth.
Billionaire wealth in mainland China is now second to only the United States, having grown by about 1146% from 2009 to 2020, compared to 170% in the US. As of the middle of this year, it was sitting at about USD 1.7 trillion in China, compared to USD 3.6 trillion in the US.
UBS and PwC's recent report on billionaire wealth highlights some interesting trends about the global economy and global wealth.
Billionaire wealth in mainland China is now second to only the United States, having grown by about 1146% from 2009 to 2020, compared to 170% in the US. As of the middle of this year, it was sitting at about USD 1.7 trillion in China, compared to USD 3.6 trillion in the US.
About half of all billionaires seem to have a significant amount of their wealth invested in real estate. Somewhere between 21-40% of their net worth.
At the same time, the report identifies the real estate industry as having the fewest number of "innovators & disruptors." Only 17% of billionaires (whose wealth is primarily derived from real estate) are classified in this way. The report calls out the sector as being "especially slow to embrace technology to boost efficiency."
Perhaps the most interesting takeaway is that, even within the rarified billionaire community, tech is driving polarization. For most of the last decade, the sector didn't matter all that much. The rich were getting richer. Now it's more so the tech rich. And COVID-19 seems to be accelerating this trend.
This is not to say that I think people are particularly worried about billionaires who maybe aren't getting as rich as they used to. That's like complaining about being too good looking. But it is clear that tech is driving a bunch of macro shifts in the global economy and this is just another example of that playing out.
Image: UBS and PwC
“Every failed idea from the dotcom bubble would work now."
Every year, Benedict Evans publishes a "big presentation" on the current trends in tech. They are always excellent and they help to put a lot of things into perspective. This year he covers everything from TV subscriptions to online mattress companies (there were 175 of them as of last year), and asks: What's next in tech?
New technologies have typically come in S-Curves (see above). They start out slow, see rapid growth, and then taper off. To use Benedict's wording, they go from stupid to exciting and then to boring. Smartphones are currently in the boring phase. Each new year sees only incremental change. So, what's next? That is still TBD.
To download a full copy of the presentation, click here.
Slide Image: Benedict Evans
About half of all billionaires seem to have a significant amount of their wealth invested in real estate. Somewhere between 21-40% of their net worth.
At the same time, the report identifies the real estate industry as having the fewest number of "innovators & disruptors." Only 17% of billionaires (whose wealth is primarily derived from real estate) are classified in this way. The report calls out the sector as being "especially slow to embrace technology to boost efficiency."
Perhaps the most interesting takeaway is that, even within the rarified billionaire community, tech is driving polarization. For most of the last decade, the sector didn't matter all that much. The rich were getting richer. Now it's more so the tech rich. And COVID-19 seems to be accelerating this trend.
This is not to say that I think people are particularly worried about billionaires who maybe aren't getting as rich as they used to. That's like complaining about being too good looking. But it is clear that tech is driving a bunch of macro shifts in the global economy and this is just another example of that playing out.
Image: UBS and PwC
“Every failed idea from the dotcom bubble would work now."
Every year, Benedict Evans publishes a "big presentation" on the current trends in tech. They are always excellent and they help to put a lot of things into perspective. This year he covers everything from TV subscriptions to online mattress companies (there were 175 of them as of last year), and asks: What's next in tech?
New technologies have typically come in S-Curves (see above). They start out slow, see rapid growth, and then taper off. To use Benedict's wording, they go from stupid to exciting and then to boring. Smartphones are currently in the boring phase. Each new year sees only incremental change. So, what's next? That is still TBD.
To download a full copy of the presentation, click here.
Slide Image: Benedict Evans
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