Under The Angsana Tree: COVID-19 Billionaires

Meet 20 men who thrived on the pandemic

(Clockwise from top left) Businessmen Ugur Sahin, David Chen, Loo Choon Yong, Anthony Tan, Shi Xu, and Teo Swee Ann became even wealthier because of the pandemic. PHOTOS: REUTERS, SEA, ST FILE, ALPHONSUS CHERN, TEO SWEE ANN

Covid-19 has not been all gloom and doom. It may have plunged economies into recession but it also prospered business owners in medical equipment, pharmaceutical and e-commerce sectors.

In some cases, the pandemic multiplied net worths from millions to billions of dollars as masks, hand sanitisers and vaccines became key in combating the outbreak.

Here are 20 Covid-19 minted billionaires who became even wealthier in the fight against the virus:

Timothy Springer, 73
Robert Langer, 73
Stephane Bancel, 49
Noubar Afeyan, 59
Ugur Sahin, 55
Liu Fangyi, 51
Prathap Reddy, 88
Arvind Lal, 72
Hu Kun, 52
Li Jianquan, 64
Itaru Tanimura, 56
Sergio Stevanato, 78
Forrest Li, 43
Gang Ye, 41
David Chen, 40
Loo Choon Yong, 72
Anthony Tan, 39
Shi Xu, 57
Yao Hsiao Tung, 81
Teo Swee Ann, 46

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COVID-19 vaccine boosters could mean billions for drugmakers

In this March 2021 photo provided by Pfizer, a technician works on a line for packaging preparation for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the company's facility in Puurs, Belgium. Billions more in profits are at stake for some vaccine makers as the U.S. moves toward dispensing COVID-19 booster shots to shore up Americans' protection against the virus. (Pfizer via AP)

Billions more in profits are at stake for some vaccine makers as the U.S. moves toward dispensing COVID-19 booster shots to shore up Americans' protection against the virus. How much the manufacturers stand to gain depends on how big the rollout proves to be. U.S. health officials last week endorsed booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine for all Americans 65 and older — along with tens of millions of younger people who are at higher risk from the coronavirus because of health conditions or their jobs.

Officials described the move as a first step. Boosters will likely be offered even more broadly in the coming weeks or months, including boosters of vaccines made by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. That, plus continued growth in initial vaccinations, could mean a huge gain in sales and profits for Pfizer and Moderna in particular. “The opportunity quite frankly is reflective of the billions of people around the world who would need a vaccination and a boost,” Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said.

Wall Street is taking notice. The average forecast among analysts for Moderna’s 2022 revenue has jumped 35% since President Joe Biden laid out his booster plan in mid-August. Most of the vaccinations so far in the U.S. have come from Pfizer, which developed its shot with Germany’s BioNTech, and Moderna. They have inoculated about 99 million and 68 million people, respectively. Johnson & Johnson is third with about 14 million people. No one knows yet how many people will get the extra shots. But Morningstar analyst Karen Andersen expects boosters alone to bring in about $26 billion in global sales next year for Pfizer and BioNTech and around $14 billion for Moderna if they are endorsed for nearly all Americans.

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