2018's biggest winners and losers: How Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and other billionaires stack up

Published Wed, Jan 2 2019 10:52 AM ESTUpdated Wed, Jan 2 2019 11:43 AM EST

Sarah Berger

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos laughs at a discussion at the Air Force Association's Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 19, 2018.

Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

You win some, you lose some, and billionaires are no exception.

In 2018, a number of billionaires amassed an eye-popping amount of wealth, while others saw their fortunes dwindle. Here are 2018's biggest winners and losers.

Biggest winners

It's safe to say Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos had a pretty good year: in July, he was crowned the richest man in modern history, and according to Bloomberg, took the title as the biggest winner of 2018.

Bezos grew his wealth by a whopping $24 billion last year, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index (a daily ranking of the world's richest people that is updated at the close of every trading day in New York). Still, Bloomberg notes that even Bezos was susceptible to the stock market's rocky tail-end of the year, and saw his fortune dwindle $45 billion since September. On Wednesday, Bezos' total net worth on the index is $125 billion.

The second biggest gainer of 2018 was Lei Jun, the chairman of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi. Lei gained $8.6 billion in 2018. As of Wednesday his net worth is pegged at $11.9 billion, earning him the 96th spot on Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. Following Lei is the founder and CEO of Chinese e-commerce operator Pinduoduo, Colin Huang, who added $6.9 billion to his fortune in 2018. The 38-year-old currently ranks 100th on Bloomberg's Billionaires Index with a net worth of $11.6 billion.

Biggest losers

With his company embroiled in scandal after scandal, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg saw his fortune drop the most in 2018, losing an astounding $19.9 billion. On Jan. 1, 2017, Zuckerberg boasted a total net worth of $72.8 billion, according to Bloomberg. As of Wednesday, his current net worth is listed on the index at $52 billion, earning him the seventh spot on Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.

The second biggest loser of 2018, according to Bloomberg, is Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, who lost $16.6 billion. Ortega owns 59 percent of Inditex, the world's largest clothing retailer and parent company of popular chains like Zara. Ortega ranked ahead of Zuckerberg on Bloomberg's index, claiming the fifth spot with a $58.6 billion fortune. The third biggest loser of 2018 goes to Georg Schaeffler, a German businessman who lost $13.6 billion in 2018. Schaeffler has a current net worth of $10.5 billion and holds the 120th spot on Bloomberg's index.

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