The Richest U.S. Billionaires Made $1.1 Trillion During The Pandemic—The Rest Of Americans, Not So Much

With all of the drama going on lately, I know what you’re thinking— “I hope the billionaires are okay!” Well, you don’t have to worry. The billionaire class is doing just fine and dandy. In fact, U.S. billionaires have made $1.1 trillion during the pandemic. This is about 40% more money than before the outbreak started last March, according to the Institute for Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness. Meanwhile, most everyone else is desperately trying to hang on by their fingernails.

America’s 660 billionaires now hold $4.1 trillion in wealth—two thirds more than the amount held by the bottom 50% of the U.S. population. A big reason for their success is the raging stock market. Since the disease spread throughout the country, Elon Musk became about $155 billion richer—thanks to his holdings in Tesla. Nearly 50 people joined the exalted ranks of billionaires during this time period. Musk’s wealth grew by an incredulous 600%. Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, saw his fortune skyrocket at least $68 billion higher and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg reaped almost $40 billion.

Below the uber-ridiculously wealthy, the upper middle class benefited too. The richest 10% of Americans owned 87% of all stocks, according to the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, millions of Americnas didn’t partake in the stock market boom.

We are living in a warped universe. While a small group of people have realized almost unimaginable wealth, 74 million people have filed for unemployment benefits. Poverty and food insecurity, among Americans, hit record highs. During the last six months of 2020, over 8 million Americans fell into poverty, according to economists at the University of Chicago, University of Notre Dame and the Lab for Economic Opportunities.

President Joe Biden’s newly confirmed Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, acknowledged this troubling issue, saying, “Well before Covid-19 infected a single American, we were living in a K-shaped economy, one where wealth built on wealth while working families fell further and further behind.”

In an attempt to work toward closing the wealth and income inequality gaps, both Biden and Yellen called for actions to be taken. Part of Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan includes provisions to help people with $1,400 stimulus checks, $350 billion in state and local aid and increases to unemployment benefits. Biden’s Build Back Better program plans to push for a multi-trillion infrastructure package. Refurbishing the nation’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports would require the hiring of large numbers of people, which, in turn, will give a much-needed boost to the economy.

Another cause for the growing wealth gap is the acceleration of home prices. As people left the big cities to escape the disease, growing crime and the closures of restaurants, concerts, sporting events, bars and other attractions that made places like New York special, they moved to the suburbs. The fleeing urbanites scooped up homes. Housing prices hit a record “14-year high in 2020.” Owning a home is one of the best ways to accumulate wealth and bring people into the middle and upper class.

In a mind-blowing statistic, Oxfam International’s annual inequality report revealed, “It will take more than a decade for the world’s poorest to recoup their losses from the pandemic.” According to the report, “By contrast, it took just nine months for the world’s top 1,000 billionaires to recover.”