NEW YORK CITY: Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and the rest of America’s billionaires saw their fortunes skyrocket over the past six months during the coronavirus pandemic — while millions of Americans are now earning less than they were before the crisis began, according to a new study, foreign media reported.
The Institute for Policy Studies’ latest Billionaire Bonanza report on wealth inequality shows the 643 wealthiest Americans have raked in a whopping $845 billion in combined assets between March 18 and September 15, growing their combined wealth by 29%.
The study notes that the rapid rise wealth has increased the total net worth among the nation’s top earners from $2.95 trillion to $3.8 trillion. The list of highest earners includes Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The study is based on individuals’ net worth data tracked by Forbes
Chuck Collins, director of the Institute for Policy Studies’ Program on Inequality, who co-authored the report, said he was somewhat shocked by the figures, adding that the Covid crisis is “supercharging America’s existing inequalities.”
“I would have thought maybe six months into this that things would have shaken out — that everybody would take a hit,” Collins told CNN Business. “The difference is stark between profits for billionaires and the widespread economic misery in our nation. It sort of dramatizes the unequal sacrifice and profiteering element of the wealth accumulation at the top.”
