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Gwynne Shotwell, the billionaire president of SpaceX, is joined by SpaceX executives and employees as they ring the opening bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite to celebrate the launch of the company's initial public offering in New York on June 12, 2026.
(Photo by Timothy Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
Supercharged by Trump-GOP Tax Cuts, US Billionaire Wealth Surges Past $9 Trillion for First Time
"This broken political and economic system takes from the vast majority of Americans and consolidates wealth in the hands of a privileged few. It cannot stand."
Jun 16, 2026
The collective wealth of US billionaires reached a record $9.24 trillion this month—an increase of around $2.2 trillion compared to the same time last year—while millions of Americans struggled to afford groceries, healthcare, and other basic necessities as inflation driven by President Donald Trump's illegal Iran war eroded their wages.
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) published an analysis Tuesday detailing the explosion of billionaire wealth and noting that "over the last 12 months, US GDP (unadjusted for inflation) rose just 6%, meaning this wealth expansion is not trickling down to broad-based prosperity." AFT's billionaire wealth total includes the net worth of Elon Musk, who reached trillionaire status last week with the public debut of his rocket company, SpaceX.
According to AFT's analysis of Forbes data, Musk's wealth has grown by nearly 205%—roughly $863 billion—over the past year. Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, is the second-wealthiest billionaire in the US, with a net worth of roughly $301 billion—up 118% compared to last year.
In addition to the growing chasm between the richest Americans and everyone else, AFT observed that wealth is increasingly concentrated at the very top even among the wealthiest, whose fortunes are largely tied up in stock appreciation that is not taxed unless shares are sold.
"America’s 15 centi-billionaires and now one trillionaire alone make up 43% of all billionaire wealth—an astounding $4 trillion—and their wealth is growing over twice as fast as fellow billionaires in the past year," the group noted. "Just these top 16 billionaires hold more wealth today than every US billionaire combined in September of 2020, less than six years ago."
AFT attributed skyrocketing billionaire wealth in part to tax cuts that Trump and congressional Republicans showered on the ultra-wealthy in 2017 and again in 2025.
"Nearly halfway into Trump’s second administration’s second year in office, with GOP majorities in the House and Senate, the ultra-wealthy and billionaires have been rewarded with massive tax giveaways and policies funded with cuts to affordability programs that has resulted in millions losing access to healthcare and food," David Kass, ATF's executive director, said in a statement.
"This broken political and economic system takes from the vast majority of Americans and consolidates wealth in the hands of a privileged few," Kass added. "It cannot stand.”
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The collective wealth of US billionaires reached a record $9.24 trillion this month—an increase of around $2.2 trillion compared to the same time last year—while millions of Americans struggled to afford groceries, healthcare, and other basic necessities as inflation driven by President Donald Trump's illegal Iran war eroded their wages.
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) published an analysis Tuesday detailing the explosion of billionaire wealth and noting that "over the last 12 months, US GDP (unadjusted for inflation) rose just 6%, meaning this wealth expansion is not trickling down to broad-based prosperity." AFT's billionaire wealth total includes the net worth of Elon Musk, who reached trillionaire status last week with the public debut of his rocket company, SpaceX.
According to AFT's analysis of Forbes data, Musk's wealth has grown by nearly 205%—roughly $863 billion—over the past year. Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, is the second-wealthiest billionaire in the US, with a net worth of roughly $301 billion—up 118% compared to last year.
In addition to the growing chasm between the richest Americans and everyone else, AFT observed that wealth is increasingly concentrated at the very top even among the wealthiest, whose fortunes are largely tied up in stock appreciation that is not taxed unless shares are sold.
"America’s 15 centi-billionaires and now one trillionaire alone make up 43% of all billionaire wealth—an astounding $4 trillion—and their wealth is growing over twice as fast as fellow billionaires in the past year," the group noted. "Just these top 16 billionaires hold more wealth today than every US billionaire combined in September of 2020, less than six years ago."
AFT attributed skyrocketing billionaire wealth in part to tax cuts that Trump and congressional Republicans showered on the ultra-wealthy in 2017 and again in 2025.
"Nearly halfway into Trump’s second administration’s second year in office, with GOP majorities in the House and Senate, the ultra-wealthy and billionaires have been rewarded with massive tax giveaways and policies funded with cuts to affordability programs that has resulted in millions losing access to healthcare and food," David Kass, ATF's executive director, said in a statement.
"This broken political and economic system takes from the vast majority of Americans and consolidates wealth in the hands of a privileged few," Kass added. "It cannot stand.”
The collective wealth of US billionaires reached a record $9.24 trillion this month—an increase of around $2.2 trillion compared to the same time last year—while millions of Americans struggled to afford groceries, healthcare, and other basic necessities as inflation driven by President Donald Trump's illegal Iran war eroded their wages.
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) published an analysis Tuesday detailing the explosion of billionaire wealth and noting that "over the last 12 months, US GDP (unadjusted for inflation) rose just 6%, meaning this wealth expansion is not trickling down to broad-based prosperity." AFT's billionaire wealth total includes the net worth of Elon Musk, who reached trillionaire status last week with the public debut of his rocket company, SpaceX.
According to AFT's analysis of Forbes data, Musk's wealth has grown by nearly 205%—roughly $863 billion—over the past year. Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, is the second-wealthiest billionaire in the US, with a net worth of roughly $301 billion—up 118% compared to last year.
In addition to the growing chasm between the richest Americans and everyone else, AFT observed that wealth is increasingly concentrated at the very top even among the wealthiest, whose fortunes are largely tied up in stock appreciation that is not taxed unless shares are sold.
"America’s 15 centi-billionaires and now one trillionaire alone make up 43% of all billionaire wealth—an astounding $4 trillion—and their wealth is growing over twice as fast as fellow billionaires in the past year," the group noted. "Just these top 16 billionaires hold more wealth today than every US billionaire combined in September of 2020, less than six years ago."
AFT attributed skyrocketing billionaire wealth in part to tax cuts that Trump and congressional Republicans showered on the ultra-wealthy in 2017 and again in 2025.
"Nearly halfway into Trump’s second administration’s second year in office, with GOP majorities in the House and Senate, the ultra-wealthy and billionaires have been rewarded with massive tax giveaways and policies funded with cuts to affordability programs that has resulted in millions losing access to healthcare and food," David Kass, ATF's executive director, said in a statement.
"This broken political and economic system takes from the vast majority of Americans and consolidates wealth in the hands of a privileged few," Kass added. "It cannot stand.”
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