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Winners of 2022

Winners and Losers of 2022: Part 1 – The Winners. 

I am pleased to announce my picks for the first annual “Who’s Eating Your Pie? Winners and Losers of the Year Awards.” 

I have selected four winners and four losers, each of whom helped to shape our perspective on economic and cultural success in 2022. 

In this post I share the winners.

#4 The Energy Industry

2022 experienced revival in the energy industry. Remember the painful oil and gas prices? They were certainly a factor which contributed to huge jumps in inflation. Those prices may not have been encouraging for consumers, but they were good news for an industry which returned by more than 60%  in 2022, outperforming every other S&P 500 sector.  The biggest winner was Occidental Petroleum with an increase of more than 120%.

#3 The Travel Industry

After nearly two years of  lock-downs and a wrenching global shutdown, millions thronged to see the world again. A revived and booming travel industry was there to make it happen. Vacations, trade shows, business travel and destination cities were all back. The one favor which the Pandemic granted was to increase tech adoption within the industry, which was well timed for the 2022 rebirth. Within the first three months of 2022, international tourism increased by 182%, and the numbers remained  generally strong throughout the year.

#2 Elon Musk

He turned the world of tech and social media upside down with innovation and disruptive thinking in 2022. He overthrew censors at Twitter, and restored the cause of free speech to social media with his bold purchase of the giant that earned him the hatred of the establishment, but the appreciation of millions. Elon Musk  did all this to the temporary detriment of his massive personal portfolio, while  launching successful rocket missions into space,  pointing us to Mars, and prepping new ground-breaking innovations at Tesla.  Musk reminded us that progress requires resolve and the willingness to take two steps back to move five steps forward.

#1 The Nation of Ukraine

Ukraine is the underdog story of 2022 – a nation of 40 million people who have withstood invasion from one of the greatest military powers on earth. Despite 14 million displaced people, and the type of widespread destruction of cities, homes and lives that we have not seen since WWII, Ukraine presses on. With much of their power grid knocked out by Russian missiles, Ukraine remains undaunted, optimistic and defiant. They are the big winners of 2022, and have reminded the world what it means to be unified and defiant in the face of unimaginable odds.  Their perseverance is a reminder to everyone struggling financially or personally, that quitting is not an option.

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Erik Weir