Although the Covid-19 epidemic consumed most of the world's economies, it did not prevent the richest families on earth from subsidizing their financial gains and increasing their wealth.

In a report published by the American "Bloomberg" website, the writer Tom Metcalf said that the epidemic did not affect much the wealth of the richest families in the world.

According to the writer, the Walton family has become richer than ever, adding $ 25 billion to its wealth last year to an estimated $ 215 billion, and during the past years has benefited from investment in Wal-Mart store chain and e-commerce and from the large increase in first-quarter sales This year despite the painful blow to the retail sector in the United States.

In fact, the wealth of the Walton family - which is unprecedented - exceeds that of the Mars family specializing in sweets, which ranks second, by nearly $ 100 billion. He added that the total net worth of the 25 richest families on the planet settled at $ 1.4 trillion.

He pointed out that the Indian Mukesh Ambani has earned more than $ 20 billion in investments in his digital platforms since last April, which poured into Asia's huge wealth, an increase of 61% last year.

The wealth of the Johnson family, which owns Fidelity Investments, has increased by $ 9 billion this year, to $ 46 billion.

The Swiss family of Uri-Hoffman, which ranked 12th, added 24% to its net worth while boosting Hoffmann-La Roche shares through sales of Covid-19 disclosure tests.

The Mars family has a fortune of $ 120 billion (Reuters)

Calls to impose taxes

The writer pointed out that these huge fortunes have exacerbated demands for taxing, while the Corona epidemic and the "black lives are important" protests in the United States have highlighted inequality. Left-wing politicians have launched vocal attacks on the widening inequality and growing wealth of billionaires.

Even the wealthy families who have suffered this year, including the Cook family affected by the oil price crash, have been able to withstand the hardships the world is going through, the Bloomberg report said.

According to Karen Harding - who heads Boston's NEPC private fortune (Boston) - most wealthy family offices are in a position to accept rising and falling stocks. This is partial evidence of the long-term benefits that tremendous wealth brings, says the Bloomberg Report.

Thanks to years of strategic diversification and family offices that investment banks can compete in their scope and expertise, only 0.001% of the wealthy may live in a state of economic and social turmoil, the writer says.

The writer notes that the net worth figures for the rich families go back to the date of July 24, while the arrangement excludes the fortunes of the first generation and what is controlled by one heir. Families whose source of wealth could not be identified were also excluded.

Walmart represents the largest retailer in the world (French)

The richest families

1. The Walton family: with a wealth of $ 215 billion, comes from Walmart, which operates the retail sector and represents the largest retailer in the world by revenue, with sales of $ 524 billion from more than 11,000 stores worldwide.

The family owns about half of the retail stores, a share that is the basis of the world's largest wealth. Her fortune grew by $ 3 million an hour over the past year on average.

2. The Mars family, with a wealth of $ 120 billion, is owned by Mars United, which operates in the confectionery, confectionery and pet care sector. Founded by Frank Mars, the company is known for its M & M's candy bars, Milky Way chocolate bars, and Mars.

3. The Cook family, with a fortune of $ 109.7 billion, and owns the Koch company, which operates in the industrial sector, and has annual revenues of about 115 billion.

4- The Ambani family: its wealth reaches $ 81.3 billion, and it owns Reliance Industries Limited. Dahir Ambani, father of Mukesh and Anil, began building Reliance Industries Limited in 1957. When Dahir died in 2002 without leaving a will, his widow brokered a settlement between her sons to control the family’s wealth.

The Ambani family reaches $ 81.3 billion (European News Agency)

Mukesh now heads the Mumbai-based bloc, which has the largest oil refining complex in the world. He lives in a 27-storey mansion, classified as the most expensive private property in the world.

5- The Hermes family, with a fortune of $ 63.9 billion, is owned by Hermes, which operates in the luxury goods sector. Jean-Louis Dumas, who died in 2010, is credited with turning Hermes into a global luxury fashion giant.

The Hermes store in China recorded more than $ 2.5 million in sales the day it reopened after it closed during the outbreak of the Coruna virus.

6- The Wertheimer family, with a fortune of $ 54.4 billion, is owned by Chanel, a luxury goods company.

Its revenue last year was $ 12 billion, and the fashion house owns many race horses and grape fields.

7- The Johnson family, with a fortune of $ 54.4 billion, is owned by Fidelity Investments.

Despite the company's boom, it faced severe pressure to cut fees and commissions as investors increasingly turned to low-cost index funds and ETFs.

8- The von Baumbach family, with a fortune of $ 45.7 billion, is owned by the drug company Boehringer Ingelheim.

The company is currently testing more than a million compounds to develop a vaccine for the emerging corona virus.

9 - Albrecht family, with a fortune of $ 41 billion, and owns the retail company Aldi.

10- The Thomson family, whose wealth is estimated at $ 40.6 billion, is owned by Thomson Reuters.

The wealth of the richest family arose in Canada in the early 1930s when Roy Thompson opened a radio station in Ontario. He also opened two newspapers and became the country's media emperor. The family owns 66% of Thomson Reuters.