The world’s ten richest billionaires, meanwhile, added $398bn to their pile, according to Bloomberg.
Among them was Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who added $4bn to a fortune which ended the year on $194bn, allowing him to afford the $500m superyacht ordered from Netherlands-based builder Oceanco.
He was not alone on purchasing one of the world’s largest pleasure boats. Some 894 motor superyachts were sold last year, costing $5.2bn, up from 465 at $3.2bn the year before, according to data provider VesselsValue.
One sale included a mystery buyer snapping up Octopus, a €235m (£196m) vessel built for the late Microsoft founder Paul Allen. At the more modest end of the market, footballer David Beckham reportedly spent £5m on a 100-foot yacht last month.
James Banks, managing director at LaSource Automotive, says the wealthy he knows are getting richer and wanting to enjoy their money on something special, helping to keep the highest end of the market buoyant.
His firm helps wealthy car collectors spend up to £3m on the finest sports cars, marketed as hypercars, which are made in very small numbers by builders such as Gordon Murray and Sweden’s Koenigsegg.
“What we are seeing is more people entering that part of the market, wanting things that are genuinely special, exclusive,” he says.
While his usual clientele remain as collectors who can own up to 200 cars, new buyers are also popping up in the search for something unique.
“I think increasingly I’m seeing people think well, I’ll actually buy something that may be a greater stretch,” he says, as the pandemic encourages them to enjoy their money.
