On Monday, global stock markets plunged drastically over panic selling triggered by fears over the double threat of the coronavirus outbreak and slump in oil prices in the wake of the failure to reach an agreement on crude production cuts under the OPEC+ deal.
The losses of Russia’s richest people over the 9 March international stock collapse exceeded $15 billion, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI) rating has revealed.
The BBI rating is calculated in line with the value of shares in certain companies owned by the billionaires. The index currently contains the 500 wealthiest people in the world, including 24 Russians.
Russia’s second-richest man Vagit Alekperov, head and co-owner of Lukoil, lost $1.9 billion, while the fortune of Russian billionaires Vladimir Lisin and Alexei Mordashov shrank by $1.05 billion and $994 million, respectively.
Global Stock Turmoil
The developments come after Monday’s meltdown on international stock markets, which was caused by the double threat of the coronavirus spread and fall in oil prices after the OPEC oil producers’ failure to agree on deeper production cuts.
European stocks, including those in the UK, Germany, Italy, and France, plummeted by 11-16.6%, while trading on US stock exchanges was halted after opening as the S&P 500 nosedived 7 percent, triggering an automatic 15 minute cutout.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared the coronavirus a pandemic, as the number of confirmed cases worldwide surpassed 126,200, with over 100 countries affected.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
