The Bank of Japan's unexpected stimulus has already made the country's richest even wealthier, adding more than $3 billion to the four top billionaires' net worth.
Fast Retailing Co. Chairman Tadashi Yanai, Japan's richest person, saw his fortune grow by about $2 billion in the three trading days since the BOJ's Oct. 31 announcement that sparked a plunge in the yen and a rally in stocks.
While billionaires such as Yanai gained, the central bank's unprecedented asset purchases to support economic growth have yet to show evidence of spreading beyond Japan's wealthiest people and corporations.