The Political scene:The winners and losers of 2017 - by Ryan Heath

Macron-mania swept Europe’s political elite in 2017, and French voters went along for the ride. The first sign that Emmanuel Macron could ignite a new post-partisan enthusiasm in French voters: he packed out rallies just as President Trump did. Macron took his promise to build an electoral movement from the ground up all the way to the Elysée Palace, all before he turned 40. Helped by the flaws of his predecessor François Hollande and the scandals of his challengers Francois Fillon and Marine Le Pen, Macron also took control of the French National Assembly and assumed the lead role on reform of the European Union.

 Read  the complete report  The winners and losers of 2017 – POLITICO

Disparity between Rich and Poor: World’s 400 richest get richer, adding $92bn in 2014

The 400 richest billionaires in the world added another $92 billion to their names in 2014 and now sit on assets worth $4.1 trillion, but Russia’s super-wealthy have been hit by economic problems resulting from the Ukraine crisis.

The biggest winner in 2014 was China’s Jack Ma, who co-founded the Alibaba Group Holding ltd, (BABA), China’s largest e-commerce company, Bloomberg reports.

Ma, who has a personal fortune of $28.7 billion, has added $25.1 billion to his wealth since the September initial public offering saw shares surge by 56 percent.

Other big winners in 2014 were Warren Buffett and Mark Zuckerberg. Buffet increased his net worth by $13.7 billion as dozens of businesses he had brought over the past five decades produced record profits.

Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook, the world’s largest social networking company, added $10.6 billion to his cash pile. Facebook has flourished this year as advertising increased and marketing initiatives expanded, and the 2012 acquisition of Instagram has also paid off; with the photo sharing app now worth $35 billion.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, remains the world’s richest man with an $87.6 billion personal fortune, up $9.1 billion this year.

Read more: World’s 400 richest get richer, adding $92bn in 2014 — RT Business