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Some ultra-rich have seen their fortunes dip this year. (Shutterstock)
Notwithstanding the continuing economic gloom, the rich in the world have still made a big amount of money this year.
And, just as every coin has another side to it, there are some ultra-rich individuals who have seen their fortunes dip due to many reasons, some totally out of their control.
As 2014 comes to a close, it’s time again to look at the list of the richest in the world and how their finances have fared.
Here are the year’s biggest financial gainers and losers as per Wealth-X, an intelligence and prospecting firm.
The biggest gainer of 2014 was Alibaba, founder and executive chairman Jack Ma, the former English teacher-turned billionaire entrepreneur.
Ma’s fortune swelled by $18.5 billion this year to $29.2bn, representing an increase of 173 per cent, largely due to Alibaba’s blockbuster IPO in September and the subsequent strong performance of the company’s stock.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett came in second place on the Wealth-X list of this year’s top gainers. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman raked in $13.5bn in 2014, a 23 per cent increase from last year, to push his fortune to $72.6bn.
The world’s richest man, Bill Gates, saw his net worth grow by $10.5bn in 2014 to reach $83.1bn, earning him third place on the Wealth-X ranking of this year’s biggest gainers.
The individual who lost the most money this year is Russian energy tycoon Leonid Mikhelson.
The biggest shareholder of natural gas producer Novatek lost $7bn, or 41 per cent of his wealth, in 2014, due to the plummeting Russian currency, weak oil prices and economic sanctions imposed by the West over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Mikhelson’s fortune now stands at $10bn.
Below are the biggest gainers and losers of 2014. All figures (net worth) are in US$ billion
Gainers
| Rank | Name | In Dec 2013 | In Dec 2014 | Gain/Loss | Gain/Loss (%) |
| 1 | Jack Ma | 10.7 | 29.2 | 18.5 | 173% |
| 2 | Warren Buffett | 59.1 | 72.6 | 13.5 | 23% |
| 3 | Bill Gates | 72.6 | 83.1 | 10.5 | 14% |
| 4 | Mark Zuckerberg | 24.7 | 33.1 | 8.4 | 34% |
| 5 | Patrick Drahi | 7.8 | 12.9 | 5.1 | 65% |
Losers
| Rank | Name | In Dec 2013 | In Dec 2014 | Gain/Loss | Gain/Loss (%) |
| 1 | Leonid Mikhelson | 17 | 10 | -7 | -41% |
| 2 | Masayoshi Son | 19.1 | 13.2 | -5.9 | -31% |
| 3 | Lui Chee Woo | 19.6 | 4.1 | -5.5 | -28% |
| 4 | Jeff Bezos | 34.4 | 28.9 | -5.5 | -16% |
| 5 | Sheldon Adelson | 35.3 | 30.1 | -5.2 | -15% |
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