- US billionaires have added $565 billion to their collective wealth during the past 11 weeks, a report by the Institute for Policy Studies found.
- Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, was the biggest winner as his fortune grew by $36.2 billion between March 18 and June 4, IPS said.
- Below are the 11 US billionaires who saw the biggest gains in net worth during the pandemic.
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Many billionaires were hit hard when the coronavirus tanked markets in late February and the first half of March. However, their fortunes rebounded with the stock market in recent weeks, despite a historic surge in unemployment.
The combined wealth of a selection of US billionaires surged by $565 billion, an increase of almost 20% since the start of the pandemic, according to a report by the Institute for Policy Studies.
Chuck Collins, who co-authored the Billionaire Bonanza 2020 report, said: “In a turbulent week in the life of the nation, these statistics remind us that we are more economically and racially divided than at any time in decades.”
Collins added: “Our moral, economic and physical health as a society depends on building a post-pandemic economy that works for everyone, not just the billionaire class. Surging billionaire wealth juxtaposed with the suffering and plight of millions undermines the social solidarity required for us to recover together in the years ahead.”
Here are the increases in 11 US billionaires' wealth between March 18 and June 4, based on figures from the Institute for Policy Studies and net-worth estimates from Forbes.
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon
Increase: $36.2 billion
Total wealth: $149 billion
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook
Increase: $30.1 billion
Total wealth: $84.8 billion
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
Increase: $14.1 billion
Total wealth: $38.7 billion
Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google
Increase: $13.9 billion
Total wealth: $63.0 billion
Larry Page, co-founder of Google
Increase: $13.7 billion
Total wealth: $64.6 billion
Steve Ballmer, owner of the LA Clippers and former CEO of Microsoft
Increase: $13.3 billion
Total wealth: $66.0 billion
MacKenzie Bezos, author and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos
Increase: $12.6 billion
Total wealth: $48.6 billion
Michael Bloomberg, majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg
Increase: $12.1 billion
Total wealth: $60.1 billion
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft
Increase: $11.8 billion
Total Wealth: $110 billion
Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman of Nike
Increase: $11.6 billion
Total wealth: $41.1 billion
Larry Ellison, co-founder, executive chairman and CTO of Oracle
Increase: $8.5 billion
Total wealth: $67.5 billion