Tom Metcalf is a billionaires reporter for Bloomberg, which is a rather self-explanatory role — he reports and writes on rich people, their businesses and the things they do. He recently wrote about how a double murder on the French Riviera intersected with one of the wealthiest fortunes in Monaco.
In Depth recently spoke with Tom about his current projects and the overall challenges he faces in writing about the wealthy.
You work as a billionaires reporter for Bloomberg. What’s it like to cover such an unusual beat?
It certainly raises a few eyebrows. They’re all fascinating characters and as a reporter the great thing is they’re typically not caught up in bureaucracy. So they can make big decisions quickly, which keeps you on your toes. It’s certainly a diverse beat and it’s fascinating to meet someone whose decisions can impact whole economies.
You recently put a great deal of work into your story about murders in Monaco. What did you find interesting about this particular topic? How did you go about developing the story?
The interesting thing was the murders were very high-profile and generated international interest. Yet the multibillion-dollar fortune at the center of the story had never been properly examined. Why became pretty obvious after a few weeks work – Monegasque companies don’t have to reveal too much information. So unpicking the fortune took a lot of research and ultimately took me out to Monaco itself.
In general, how do you go about finding stories on this beat? Are billionaires eager to turn to you for press coverage, or is it challenging to find stories and build them out?
It really depends. Sometimes they’ll welcome you into their homes, and other times they won’t even acknowledge your messages. However, even those that shy away from press coverage have such outsize economic influence that they’ll still show up on our radars. Finding sources probably the hardest part of what we do. These are people who work in an industry that prides itself on discretion and client confidentiality. So you do a lot of prodding and coaxing. My favorite scoop came from propping up a hotel bar in Paris outside a conference for wealth managers. A few drinks later, I was tipped off about an Italian billionaire that no one had ever covered before.
What long-term changes are you seeing in this space? Are we seeing more billionaires? A new kind of rich person? More self-made billionaires rather than old money? How are the wealthy evolving?
Entrepreneurs dominate the top level of wealth. Its actually an incredibly dynamic list. Our index updates daily and you see billionaires gaining or losing hundreds of millions, often billions, of dollars everyday. Look at individuals like Jack Ma who has risen to be China’s richest after a matter of years. Or conversely, Eike Batista who went from being the richest Brazilian to bankrupt in a matter of months. It’s never a boring beat.