Spare a thought for Warren Buffett and Carlos Slim this Christmas as you unwrap your gifts and tuck into the turkey, because no matter how hard the past 12 months have hit your portfolio amid slumping oil prices and rising interest rates, you cannot have lost as much as they have.
The fortune of Mr Slim, the Mexican tycoon of Lebanese extraction, has tumbled by US$19.2 billion in the year to date as shares of his telecoms group America Movil head for their biggest losses since 2008 thanks to the turmoil in emerging markets, according to Bloomberg data.
Mr Slim started the year as the world’s third-richest, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, but now languishes in fifth place, worth a paltry $53.5bn.
The investment guru Warren Buffett has also had his roughest year since the financial crisis. His wealth has been cut by $10.8bn for the year to date as shares of Berkshire Hathaway, Mr Buffett’s holding company, have fallen more than 10 per cent in the same period. He also failed to outperform the S&P 500 index – a feat he managed in 2008 – which is more than 5 per cent higher this year. His remaining $63bn fortune should offer some respite this holiday season.
Just in case their loved ones may fear Mr Buffett and Mr Slim are in danger of getting the holiday blues, the Robb Report is on hand with some gift ideas to cheer them up. The lifestyle guide for the 1 per cent lists possible presents in its December issue. Perhaps Mr Slim and Mr Buffett will be cheered by “a one-of-a-kind strand of rare golden South Sea pearls” worth $300,000 or a donation to Rhinos Without Borders and “fund the organisation’s capture, transport, and release of two rhinoceroses” for $250,000.
But whatever you do, don’t order them their presents from Amazon. Its founder, Jeff Bezos, now sits above Mr Slim and just below Mr Buffett on the billionaires index, with a $58.4bn fortune, his wealth having grown by a staggering $29.8bn so far this year. The online retailer has been rewarded by investors this year thanks to rising profit, the growth of its cloud business and its foray into film and television production. The Amazon labels on the wrapping paper will just remind them of the success of their rival.
The poor souls.
malrawi@thenational.ae
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