Posted on 01/04/2022 3:36:03 PM PST by Mount Athos
Shortly after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, markets collapsed and economies around the world plunged into recession. At the same time, hundreds of billionaires fell from the ranks of Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list, capturing a snapshot of the pandemic’s impact on the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest people.
One year later, things couldn’t be more different: a record 493 new billionaires joined the list this year, propelled by a red-hot stock market and unprecedented economic stimulus. Among those newcomers are at least 40 new entrants who draw their fortunes from companies involved in fighting Covid-19. Some, such as Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel and BioNTech cofounder Uğur Şahin, have become household names thanks to the vaccines they helped develop. Others got rich making everything from personal protective equipment and diagnostic tests to antibody treatments and software that helps authorities schedule vaccination campaigns, which will be essential in reopening economies and returning to normal life.
The richest of these new billionaires is Li Jianquan, the president of Chinese medical products manufacturer Winner Medical, which ramped up production of masks and medical overalls to supply frontline workers across the globe. Winner Medical’s IPO on the Shenzhen stock exchange in September 2020 instantly made Jianquan, 64, a billionaire several times over thanks to his 68% stake in the company, worth $6.8 billion.
Some vaccine companies have been so successful that their rise over the last year has minted several new billionaires from the same company, including four apiece from Moderna and Tianjin-based CanSino Biologics, which saw its one-shot vaccine approved by Chinese regulators in February. And it’s not just the vaccine discoverers: companies that mass produce the vaccines and contract research firms that help firms run clinical trials have both reaped the rewards, creating new fortunes
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
and not one of them give a damn about human lives.
Oh, China even bragged about its economic win with Covid.
The sad thing is, we don’t ever talk about bringing back manufacturing of essential supplies, especially medical supplies and pharmaceuticals. We’re not learning a lesson here.
We don’t even question the shortage of masks that prompted them to lie “masks don’t help” — then have to admit they lied because they feared there would not be enough for medical staff if ordinary people were buying them up. What? No strategic reserve of PPE? What sort of pandemic prep is that?
Trump mentioned it some, but other than he, pretty much nobody.
We are so dependent on China for so many essential products it’s scary. And this might partially explain why the cover-up of China’s cover-up of an emerging pandemic in the earliest days and exporting to the rest of the globe.
We ought to be up in arms over this. Yet here we are, arguing over nutty conspiracy theories about tiny razor blades and teensy worms in the vaccines and the like instead. Sigh
Job 27:8-10
For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
Surely they would repeat this.. pays better than the annual flu fear.
.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.