2016 was a totally garbage year—unless you were one of these 200 very lucky people

By Rafi Schwartz  |  December 29, 2016 | 9:01pm
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By just about every metric imaginable, 2016 has been a perfect shitstorm of awfulness. From the deaths of beloved public figures to the election of an unqualified demagogue, the past 365 days have been an obnoxious parade of bad news, bad decisions, and bad hair; It’s the sort of year that we’ll one day look back on, ruefully shake our heads, and marvel over having ever made it out alive (assuming, of course, that we do).

But 2016 hasn’t been all doom and gloom—at least, not for 200 of the wealthiest people on Earth. According to a new report from Bloomberg, the richest of the rich added somewhere in the ballpark of $237 billion dollars to their collective fortunes over the last year. Those staggering gains in 2016 brought their estimated combined wealth to the Scrooge McDuck-ian total of $4.4 trillion dollars.

That’s trillion with a “T.”

Four of the five biggest earners were Americans—including Warren Buffet (who added $11.8 billion to his fortune) and oil tycoon Harold Hamm (who raked in $8.4 billion)—whose bank accounts swelled thanks in part to a post-election stock market rally predicated on the expectation of looser industrial regulations under the new administration.

“2016’s been event-driven with global news driving prices rather than fundamentals,” Ascent Private Capital Management president Michael Cole told Bloomberg. “The belief that Trump is going to come in and deregulate big parts of the economy is driving the markets right now.”

So while Donald Trump may have campaigned as a champion for the working class, his election has (surprise!) already been a boom to the uber-wealthy. Proof, once again, that you’ve gotta have money to make money.

There you have it—if you’re one of the wealthiest 200 people on Earth, congratulations! You had a very good year!

And if you’re not, well…2016 will all be over soon.

 
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