Buffett’s Next Investment | Test-Trace-Isolate | Decade Of Billionaires

Plus: Why Some Workers Are Begging For Layoffs

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• Stocks Rally, Dow Up More Than 400 Points As Oil Prices Rebound

• Social Distancing in U.K. Could Remain For 12 Months As First Vaccine Trial Starts

• Another Small Business Headache: Some Employees Are Asking To Be Laid Off Thanks To Higher Unemployment Benefits

• Where’s Warren? Buffett Swooped In During 2008 But What's His Powerplay For 2020?

Top Take-Aways

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Michael Bloomberg announced a massive New York coronavirus contact tracing program. “Test-trace-isolate” is a vital strategy to try to contain the virus so that social distancing measures can be relaxed.

Tyson Foods has announced it will indefinitely suspend operations at its largest pork processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, adding to a list of meat producing facilities to shutter due to the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Under attack from President Trump, Harvard will not take $9 million in stimulus money. The funds were from a portion of the stimulus package intended to help institutions of higher education and their students and not as part of the Payment Protection Program.

The controversial rumor that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, is gaining traction among prominent Republicans, even as scientists remain skeptical. China has become a rallying point with lawmakers who are accusing China of covering up the outbreak in its early days.

Consumers decide what products and services are essential—and which are indulgent—depending on how long they’ve been in isolation, according to new research. For example, in the third week of isolation, people saw alcohol as more of an essential product than they did before quarantine.

Softbank-backed hotel unicorn Oyo is facing a regulatory smackdown in multiple U.S. states. California, Maryland and Washington have all investigated the seven-year-old startup for operating a franchising business without a license.

Time to reopen national parks? “Thanks to our significant progress against the invisible enemy, I'm pleased to announce...we will begin to reopen our national parks and public lands for the American people to enjoy,” President Trump said at an Earth Day ceremony.

Today's Must-Read

With the round number of year 2020, we decided to take a look back at our annual list of the World’s Billionaires for the past decade. And, according to Kerry Dolan, the brains and heart behind the Wealth team, “What a decade it was for the world’s superrich!” 

Check out this fun graphic tour through a decade of the highs and lows of the globe’s biggest fortunes.

Dolan notes: The number of billionaires has nearly tripled since 2010—the year that Bruno Mars and Travie McCoy hit the charts with their song “Billionaire,” with that classic line: “I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine, smiling next to Oprah and the Queen.”

Back in 2010, the concept of a $100 billion man (or woman) was hard to fathom. The world’s richest person that year was Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helu, worth $53 billion. Jump to the present: On the 2020 list, the No. 1 richest, Jeff Bezos, is worth $113 billion—and that’s after he parted with a quarter of his Amazon stake (worth $36 billion) in his 2019 divorce.

Don’t Miss: These Countries Have Gained The Most Billionaires In The Past Decade

Across Forbes

Forbes Advisor: The Senate approved Tuesday a total of about $484 billion in additional federal funding for coronavirus relief. The bill replenishes funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, which could be especially helpful for the smallest businesses affected by the crisis.