Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos gain most on day one of post-election limbo

US billionaires add $57.4 billion as stock markets climb

Despite lingering uncertainty over the US election, the country’s ultra-rich already have plenty to celebrate.

Tech billionaires in Silicon Valley saw a hotly contested ballot question on the employment status of gig workers pass in their favour, while an Illinois measure to swap the state’s flat income tax with a graduated system went down in defeat after Citadel’s Ken Griffin spent millions to oppose it.

Across the board, the 167 US billionaires also gained $57.4 billion on Wednesday as investors bid up stocks, sending major averages to the biggest rallies in five months. Amazon.com Inc’s Jeff Bezos led the way with a $10.5 billion gain, while Facebook Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg added $8.1 billion.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg added $8.1 billion

The victories cap four years of robust gains for the country’s wealthiest people. During President Donald Trump’s first term, the richest US residents added both wealth and stature thanks to surging equities markets and a raft of tax cuts. The net worth of Americans on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index went from less than $1.8 trillion on election night in 2016 to more than $2.8 trillion in late October.

Garrett Camp, co-founder of Uber and the only executive of either ride-sharing firm on the Bloomberg index of the world’s 500 richest people, saw his fortune climb almost $350 million to $3.4 billion.