World’s billionaires became 20pc richer in 2017

WASHINGTON: Billionaires made more money in 2017 than in any year in recorded history. The richest people on Earth increased their wealth by a fifth to $8.9tn (£6.9tn), according to a report by Swiss bank UBS.

The fortunes of today’s super-wealthy have risen at a far greater rate than at the turn of the 20th century, when families such as the Rothschilds, Rockefellers and Vanderbilts controlled vast wealth.

The report by UBS and accountants PwC said there was so much money in the hands of the ultra-rich that a new wave of rich and powerful multi-generational families was being created. “The past 30 years have seen far greater wealth creation than the Gilded Age” the UBS Billionaires 2018 report said.

CALIFORNIA: For the seventh year in a row, Sofia Vergara is the highest-paid actress on television. Her giant haul, which clocks in at 73% more than second-ranked Kaley Cuoco’s $24.5 million, leads this year’s ranking of the small screen’s top earners.

The Modern Family star reigns supreme thanks not only to her salary from her role on the hit ABC comedy but also to a slew of endorsements and lucrative licensing deals, which make up nearly half of her payday.

By contrast, 95% of Cuoco’s earnings can be attributed to her role on Big Bang Theory. Cuoco and her male co-stars took a pay cut, from an estimated $1 million an episode to $900,000 an episode, in an effort to free up cash for ranking newcomers Melissa Rauch (No. 6, $12 million) and Mayim Bialik (No. 6, $12 million). But she still makes plenty from the show, which is now in its final season.