US Billionaires’ Wealth Grew By $1,300,000,000,000 During Pandemic

A new report has revealed that US billionaires have seen their wealth grow by an astonishing $1,300,000,000,000 over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

This report from the Institute for Policy Studies, published Tuesday, March 23, tracked the net worth of the richest people in America from March 18, 2020, right up to March 18, 2021.

Bezos’s wealth increased by 57.6%, rising from an approximate net worth of $113 billion on March 18, 2020 to $178.1 billion by March 18, 2021. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg saw his fortune rise by $47 billion, or 86%.

Chuck Collins, director of the Institute for Policy Studies’ Program on Inequality, said:

The pandemic profiteers are extracting windfalls of wealth during a time of widespread suffering for the majority of people.

They exploit the artificial markets created by the pandemic, including having their Main Street competition shuttered and our increased dependence on online technologies.

These enormous rises in wealth stand in stark contrast to the everyday realities of ordinary Americans, many of whom have been hit hard by the economic effects of the pandemic.

The pandemic has created an astonishing rise in wealth for the nation’s billionaires while tens of millions of Americans fell further behind.

Billionaires are living in a different world from the rest of us. It’s time we bring them down to earth and make them pay their fair share of taxes like the rest of us so we can create an economy that works for everyone.

From January 20 to February 1, approximately 24 million adults reported their household had not had enough food over the course of the past week, while nearly one-in-five renters reported being behind on their rent in January.

Furthermore, as Bezos’s wealth soared, Amazon has faced widespread scrutiny for trying to crush unionisation efforts at its Alabama warehouse, where workers are pushing for better pay and working conditions.