The coronavirus pandemic has caused a massive market meltdown as businesses are forced to close down and people are told to stay at home as part of the global response to the killer virus. However, as other businessmen carry a massive loss after lockdowns are implemented across the globe, one CEO has gained billions. His name is Eric Yuan, the founder of Zoom Video Communications Inc.
While previously unranked in Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 wealthiest people, Yuan now sits on No. 274 on the list with a $5.6 billion fortune after he added $2 billion to his net worth in 2020. This increase is now considered the fourth most significant increase in the index.
Zoom’s video conferencing software has been of higher demand since employees have been adviced to work from home as part of governments’ social distancing efforts. Companies, college and university classes, and even simple meetings have been moved to the online sphere as a response to growing call for people to stay home and keep physical distance from each other.
Yuan, 50, has added more than $20 million on his net worth last week during the time when the S&P is down by 12%. Contrary to other stocks, Zoom’s shares have grown by 0.4%, boosting its year-to-date gain to 58%. They advanced an additional 3.5% in early trading Tuesday after Needham & Co. analyst Richard Valera recommended that investors buy the stock.
As of last week, the world’s 500 wealthiest lost a total of $258 billion, pushing their aggregate lost to more than $1 trillion after the the coronavirus outbreak has massively took over the global financial market.
