The People's Vaccine Alliance recently shed light on a disconcerting trend emerging amidst the global battle against COVID-19. The alliance revealed that at least nine individuals have ascended to billionaire status, reaping the rewards of pharmaceutical corporations' monopolies on COVID vaccines. This revelation comes as countries grapple with vaccine shortages, particularly affecting nations like India and Nepal, where only a fraction of the population has received vaccinations.
The newly-minted billionaires, led by the CEOs of Moderna and BioNTech, boast a combined net wealth of $19.3 billion. Astonishingly, this amount surpasses the cost required to fully vaccinate all individuals in low-income countries 1.3 times. Such an inequity is glaring when considering that these countries, home to 10% of the global population.
Eight existing billionaires, with extensive holdings in COVID-19 vaccine pharmaceutical corporations, have seen their combined wealth increase by $32.2 billion. This staggering sum could cover the complete vaccination of everyone in India. The People's Vaccine Alliance underscores the monopoly control held by pharmaceutical corporations.
Topping the list of new billionaires who have cashed in on the success of COVID vaccines are the CEOs of Moderna and BioNTech, each with a wealth over $4 billion or more. The list also includes two of Moderna’s founding investors and the company’s chair as well as the CEO of a company with a deal to manufacture and package the Moderna vaccine. This is despite the fact the vast majority of funding for the Moderna vaccine was paid for by taxpayers. The final three new vaccine billionaires are all co-founders of the Chinese vaccine company CanSino Biologics.
The 9 New Vaccine Billionaires
In a stark illustration of the consequences of vaccine monopolies, the alliance identifies the nine new vaccine billionaires:
- Stéphane Bancel - Moderna’s CEO (worth $4.3 billion)
- Ugur Sahin - CEO and co-founder of BioNTech (worth $4 billion)
- Timothy Springer - Immunologist and founding investor of Moderna (worth $2.2bn)
- Noubar Afeyan - Moderna’s Chairman (worth $1.9 billion)
- Juan Lopez-Belmonte - Chairman of ROVI, involved in Moderna vaccine production (worth $1.8 billion)
- Robert Langer - Scientist and founding investor in Moderna (worth $1.6 billion)
- Zhu Tao - Co-founder and chief scientific officer at CanSino Biologics (worth $1.3 billion)
- Qiu Dongxu - Co-founder and senior vice president at CanSino Biologics (worth $1.2 billion)
- Mao Huihua - Co-founder and senior vice president at CanSino Biologics (worth $1 billion)
Source: Nine New Vaccine Billionaires