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2030-2039

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2039

The world's first trillionaire

The gap between the richest and poorest has now reached astronomical proportions. By the late 2030s, a well-known American business magnate has achieved a net worth exceeding $1 trillion.* This is 12 times the highest figure reported at the turn of the century and is equivalent to the entire GDP of Mexico in 2015.

A major growth area in terms of innovation and wealth creation is the exploitation of space resources, such as metals and minerals from the Moon and asteroids, which is now emerging as the next big thing in commercial space ventures.* By the 2070s, there are more than ten trillionaires in the world.*

 

worlds first trillionaire 2039

 

 

Manufacturing jobs have largely disappeared in the West

In the United States and most other developed nations, manufacturing has gone the same way as agriculture – vitally important, yet employing very few people. Robots, automation and 3D printing, now sufficiently perfected after decades of development, have taken over a wide range of roles once performed by humans.*** As China and other emerging nations make the transition to service-based economies, they too will experience this trend in the not-too-distant future.

 

future manufacturing jobs 2030 2040 trend graph

 

 

Australia's national symbol, the koala, faces extinction

By this date, the koala population in Australia has dwindled to almost nothing, due to the combined impacts of drought, disease, climate change and and loss of natural habitat.* Only those in captivity now remain.

 

koala extinction climate change

 

 

Five-year survival rates for leukaemia are approaching 100%

Leukaemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow, characterised by an abnormal increase in the number of immature white blood cells, called "blasts". In 2008, there were 350,000 new cases worldwide, and 257,000 deaths from the disease, placing it within the top 10 most common type of cancer deaths.

However, treatments improved greatly over the decades, with survival rates showing a consistent upward trend. Gene therapy was among the most successful new approaches. One such method turned a patient's own T-cells into cancer-targeting attackers. In one study, conducted between 2010 and 2011, two of three patients remained cancer-free after a year.* By 2039, five-year survival rates in many countries are reaching 100%.**

 

leukemia five year survival rate future trend graph future treatments

 

 

Extreme heatwaves are commonplace in the U.S.

The previous five decades were all the hottest on record – each surpassing the last. Extreme heatwaves are now having a serious impact on agricultural yields and human health. This is a particular problem in the American West. From 2030 to 2039, most areas of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico have at least seven summers equal to the hottest season ever recorded between 1951 and 1999. The hottest daily temperatures of the year from 1980 to 1999 have become twice as frequent. There are persistent, drier conditions around the country, with substantial reductions in soil moisture and an accompanying rise in forest fires.*

 

future timeline global warming climate change drought temperature
Credit: dl91m

 

 

 

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References

1 World could see first trillionaire in 25 years, The Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/10808915/World-could-see-first-trillionaire-in-25-years.html
Accessed 12th August 2015.

2 Neil deGrasse Tyson reveals how the world's first trillionaires will make their fortunes, Salon:
http://www.salon.com/2015/05/04/neil_degrasse_tyson_the_first_trillionaire_will_be_whoever_figures_out_how_to_mine_asteroids/
Accessed 12th August 2015.

3 See 2073.

4 Table 6.4A-D. Full-Time and Part-Time Employees by Industry (A), National Income and Product Accounts Tables, US Bureau of Economic Analysis:
https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/?reqid=19&step=2&isuri=1&categories=survey
Accessed 27th December 2023.

5 Rethink Robotics aims to revolutionise manufacturing with humanoid robot, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2012/09/18.htm
Accessed 13th June 2013.

6 How Technology Is Destroying Jobs, MIT Technology Review:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2013/06/12/178008/how-technology-is-destroying-jobs/
Accessed 11th June 2020.

7 Koalas 'extinct within 30 years' after chlamydia outbreak, The Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/6537179/Koalas-extinct-within-30-years-after-chlamydia-outbreak.html
Accessed 12th November 2009.

8 New leukemia therapy destroys cancer by turning blood cells into "assassins", CBS:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20091135-10391704.html
Accessed 7th October 2012.

9 Browse the SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975-2009 (Vintage 2009 Populations), National Cancer Institute:
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2009_pops09/browse_csr.php
Accessed 7th October 2012.

10 Leukaemia survival statistics, Cancer Research UK:
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/types/leukaemia/survival/
Accessed 7th October 2012.

11 Heat waves and extremely high temperatures could be commonplace in the U.S. by 2039, Stanford study finds, Stanford News Service:
http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2010/pr-extreme-heat-study-070810.html
Accessed 19th August 2010.

 

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