Billionaires: 10 Intriguing New Facts About Who’s Getting Rich Now
A new Chinese billionaire was created almost every week in the first quarter of 2015, according to a just-released report by UBS and PwC.
"Asia's billionaires make up 36 percent of self-made billionaire wealth, overtaking Europe for the first time and second only to the U.S.," said Antoinette Hoon, private banking advisory services partner for PwC in Hong Kong. “Looking forward, we expect the region to be the center of new billionaire wealth creation.”
Related: 6 Traits of an Emerging Millionaire: Are You One?
The report, which looked at data for 1,300 billionaires over 19 years, found – unsurprisingly -- that entrepreneurship is a powerful force for wealth creation. “Billionaires: Master architects of great wealth and lasting legacies" also noted that many billionaires are embracing philanthropy to build a legacy.
Here are 10 other findings of the report:
- 917 self-made billionaires generated more than $3.6 trillion of global wealth between 1995 and 2014.
- Of them, 23 percent launched their first business before age 30; 68 percent before turning 40.
- The second-highest number of self-made American billionaires (27.3 percent) in the last two decades came out of the tech sector.
- Finance produced 30 percent of U.S. billionaires, but they aren’t as rich as their counterparts in tech; their average net worth is $4.5 billion, compared with $7.8 billion for tech moneybags.
- In Europe and Asia, self-made billionaires mostly made their money in the consumer industry. Their wealth averages $5.7 billion. Tech entrepreneurs in Europe and Asia were the second-richest group with an average worth of $3.8 billion.
- More than two-thirds of global billionaires are over 60 years old and have more than one child.
- The average age of Asia billionaires is 57, 10 years younger than in the U.S. and Europe.
- About one fourth of Asian billionaires had impoverished childhoods, compared with 8 percent in the U.S. and 6 percent in Europe.
- 60 percent of self-made billionaires in the U.S. and Europe retain their businesses, 30 percent dispose of part of their business via an IPO or trade sale, with 10 percent selling outright.
- In Europe and Asia, billionaires are most likely to create a business dynasty, with 57 percent of European and 56 percent of Asian billionaire families, respectively, taking over the family business when the founder retires. In the U.S., just 36 percent of businesses remain family-run once the founder retires.
Maybe Don’t Count Out Obamacare Repeal Just Yet
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) told reporters on Friday that he’s getting close to securing enough votes to pass the last-ditch ACA repeal and replacement bill he’s put forth with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dean Heller (R-NV) and Ron Johnson (R-WI).
“I am pretty confident we’ll get there on the Republican side,” Cassidy said. “We’re probably at 48-49 [votes] and talking to two or three more.” And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has asked the Congressional Budget Office to estimate the effects of the Cassidy-Graham bill, which would speed up the scoring process.
Of course, those last two or three votes have been the challenge for the GOP all along, and they may not be any easier to round up this time. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who voted for a prior repeal bill, said Friday that he won't support this one. Plus, opponents are already stepping up their criticisms about the effects of the bill. And time is running out: Cassidy and his colleagues only have until September 30 to pass the bill this year under a process that would require only 50 supporters in the Senate. So while the Obamacare repeal may still have life, it remains a longshot.
Orrin Hatch Signals Just How Complicated Tax Reform Will Be
GOP leaders said Wednesday that they'd issue a more detailed framework of their tax overhaul the week of September 25. But while lawmakers are eager to get more details about the outline being hashed out by the so-called Big Six team of negotiators, Republicans are still divided on key elements of the plan — going from blueprint to bill is bound to be a contentious process.
In his opening remarks at a Senate Finance Committee hearing today on individual tax reform, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said the plan from the Big Six — of which he is one — "will not dictate the direction" the tax-writing committee takes. "Anyone with any experience with the Senate Finance Committee knows that we are not anyone’s rubber stamp," he said. "If a bill – particularly on something as consequential as tax reform – is going to pass in this committee, the members of the committee will have to be involved in putting it together."
Oh, and remember: Republicans also need to agree on a budget before they can push through tax reform without Democratic votes.
Aging Baby Boomers Drive Down the Uninsured Rate
About 10,000 boomers turn 65 every day, becoming eligible for Medicare on their birthdays. The Census Bureau says that the sheer number of boomers entering Medicare is affecting the uninsured rate for the whole population. That rate fell to 8.8 percent in 2016, down from 9.1 percent a year earlier, with most of the decline driven by the aging of the post-war generation. (Wall Street Journal)
Social Security Kept 26.1 Million Out of Poverty Last Year
Social Security kept more than 26 million people out of poverty last year, according to a new report from the Census Bureau. Refundable tax credits such as the one for earned income kept 8.2 million people out of poverty, while food stamps lifted 3.6 million above the line, housing subsidies reduced the number of poor people by 3.1 million and unemployment insurance kept 680,000 out of poverty. Overall, the Census Bureau reported, the poverty rate was 12.7 percent, while a more sophisticated alternative measure that factors in government programs for low-income families put the rate at 13.9 percent, down from 14.5 percent in 2015.
Read more about the new Census Bureau numbers here.
Tax Reform on Menu for Trump's Dinner with Dems
President Trump is set to host three moderate Democratic senators for dinner on Tuesday as part of his push for tax reform, Politico reports. The Democrats on the guest list: Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana, all of whom are up for reelection in 2018 in states Trump won last November. Vice President Mike Pence and GOP Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, John Thune of South Dakota and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania are also slated to attend.