September, 17 2020, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Chris Fleming,Email:,chris@redhorsestrategies.com
Billionaire Wealth Grew by $845 Billion, or 29%, as America Struggled Through First Six Months of Pandemic
While Millions Lost Jobs, Businesses, Health & Lives, Nation’s 643 Richest Saw Their Collective Fortune Leap Nearly 30%
WASHINGTON
Half a year into a paralyzing pandemic that has cost millions of Americans their livelihoods and lives, the nation's 643 billionaires have racked up $845 billion in collective wealth gains, a 29% leap since March 18. America's billionaires reached this startling milestone of wealth accumulation even as special federal relief was drying up for millions of unemployed workers and for hard-pressed state and local governments struggling to provide vital services. Billionaire figures are from Forbes analyzed in a new report by Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).
Between March 18--the rough start date of the pandemic shutdown, when most federal and state economic restrictions were in place--and Sept. 15, the total net worth of the nation's billionaires rose from $2.95 trillion to $3.8 trillion (see table below and this spreadsheet of all billionaires). That works out to gains of $141 billion a month, $32 billion a week, or $4.7 billion a day. Forbes' annual billionaires report was published March 18, 2020, and the real-time data was collected Sept. 15 from the Forbes website.
Needless to say, ordinary workers did not fare as well. From mid-March to mid-August, the collective work income of rank-and-file private-sector employees--all hours worked times the hourly wages of the entire bottom 82% of the workforce--declined by 4.4.%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
In fact, this billionaires' bonanza occurred against a general backdrop of working-class pain:
- 6.6 million Americans got coronavirus, and almost 200,000 died from it.
- Over 50 million Americans lost jobs, with nearly 14 million still unemployed.
- 30 million are collecting unemployment benefits (counting contract workers), up from 1.6 million a year earlier.
- Nearly 30 million Americans have gone hungry.
- 12 million Americans have lost employee-sponsored health insurance.
- Big swathes of business have shut down, including 100,000 restaurants.
The stock market in which billionaires have much of their money invested dropped sharply in the month before the pandemic lockdown. But the six months of gains that followed were not merely a reversal of those losses: billionaires are also $680 billion, or 22%, richer today than they were in February 2019, the release date of the most recent previous Forbes annual report (see table below).
"Every candidate in this campaign season, from presidential hopeful down, who's pledging to lead us out of the coronavirus crisis must address this stark divergence between the nation's wealthiest elite and their struggling fellow citizens," said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness. "The answer starts with creating a fair share tax system that narrows obscene wealth gaps and raises the trillions of dollars needed to address the present emergency and invest in our families and communities over the long-term."
"The billionaire economy has been turbocharged by policymakers who are now stalling on relief for the real economy," said Chuck Collins, director of the Institute for Policy Studies' Program on Inequality and co-author of the report "Billionaire Bonanza 2020." "The difference is stark between profits for billionaires and the widespread economic misery in our nation. Clearly, the priorities of our elected officials in Washington, DC are completely upside down."
WEALTH OF U.S. BILLIONAIRES AT 6 MONTHS & 20 MONTHS
Wealth Growth ($ Billions)
March 18, 2020 -
September 15, 2020
Wealth Growth ($ Billions)
February 8, 2019 -
September 15, 2020
Name
Net Worth Mar. 18, 2020
Real Time Worth Sep. 15, 2020
Wealth Growth
% Wealth Growth
Net Worth Feb. 8, 2019
Wealth Growth
% Wealth Growth
Source
Jeff Bezos
$113.0
$186.2
$73.2
64.8%
$131.0
$55.2
42.2%
Amazon
Bill Gates
$98.0
$116.3
$18.3
18.7%
$96.5
$19.8
20.5%
Microsoft
Mark Zuckerberg
$54.7
$100.6
$45.9
83.9%
$62.3
$38.3
61.4%
Facebook
Elon Musk
$24.6
$92.0
$67.4
273.8%
$22.3
$69.7
312.4%
Tesla, SpaceX
Warren Buffett
$67.5
$83.2
$15.7
23.3%
$82.5
$0.7
0.9%
Berkshire Hathaway
Larry Ellison
$59.0
$79.2
$20.2
34.3%
$62.5
$16.7
26.8%
Oracle
Steve Ballmer
$52.7
$71.4
$18.7
35.5%
$41.2
$30.2
73.3%
Microsoft
Larry Page
$50.9
$69.2
$18.3
36.0%
$50.8
$18.4
36.3%
Google
Sergey Brin
$49.1
$67.4
$18.3
37.2%
$49.8
$17.6
35.3%
Google
Alice Walton
$54.4
$64.9
$10.5
19.3%
$44.4
$20.5
46.2%
Walmart
Jim Walton
$54.6
$64.7
$10.1
18.5%
$44.6
$20.1
45.1%
Walmart
Rob Walton
$54.1
$64.4
$10.3
19.0%
$44.3
$20.1
45.3%
Walmart
MacKenzie Scott
$36.0
$59.9
$23.9
66.3%
N/A
N/A
N/A
Amazon
Michael Bloomberg
$48.0
$54.9
$6.9
14.4%
$55.5
-$0.6
-1.1%
Bloomberg LP
Daniel Gilbert
$6.5
$50.2
$43.7
672.1%
$6.7
$43.5
649.0%
Quicken Loans
SUBTOTAL
$823.1
$1,224.5
$401.4
48.8%
$794.4
$430.1
54.1%
ALL OTHERS
$2,124.4
$2,568.1
$443.7
20.9%
$2,316.6
$251.5
10.9%
TOTAL
$2,947.5
$3,793
$845.1
28.7%
$3,111.0
$681.6
21.9%
Even among billionaires, wealth is highly concentrated. Roughly $400 billion, or only a little less than half of the total gains, were captured by just the 15 wealthiest on the billionaires list. The top three gainers alone--Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk--enjoyed fully 16% of the spoils, or a collective wealth surge of $137 billion. The total wealth of these three--$403 billion today--is nearly three times the $1.5 trillion in total wealth held by the bottom half of the population, or 165 million Americans. One billionaire from Michigan, Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans, saw his wealth increase an astonishing 672%, growing from $6.5 billion to $50.2 billion.
The $845 billion wealth gain by 643 billionaires over the past six months far exceeds the:
- $300 billion in new pandemic relief proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the aid bill crafted and that the Senate failed to pass last week.
- Two-year estimated budget gap of all state and local governments, a figure that runs from $500 billion for all levels of government to $555 billion for states alone. By mid-summer, state and local governments had already laid off 1.5 million workers and public services--especially education--faced steep budget cuts.
Low-wage workers, people of color and women have suffered disproportionately in the combined medical and economic crises because of long-standing racial and gender disparities. Billionaires are overwhelmingly white men.
House Democrats passed a relief bill back in May that offered a lifeline to Americans not sharing in the billionaires' good fortune during the pandemic. Among its provisions:
- About $500 billion in direct aid to state governments over the next two years for critical services.
- $375 billion in direct aid to local governments over the next two years for critical services. Go here to see how much is going to communities in your state.
- $117 billion in increased federal Medicaid funding over the next two years.
- $90 billion for public schools for grades K-12 and public colleges and universities.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) have introduced legislation for a 60% tax on the pandemic wealth gains of billionaires between March 18 and the end of the year and use the proceeds to help working Americans cover healthcare costs.
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) is a diverse campaign of more than 420 national, state and local endorsing organizations united in support of a fair tax system that works for all Americans. It has come together based on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. This requires big corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes, not to live by their own set of rules.
(202) 506-3264LATEST NEWS
'Out-of-Step With American Values': Newsom Vetoes Key Labor Bills
The California governor on Saturday rejected bills that would have given unemployment insurance to striking workers and OSHA protections to domestic employees.
Oct 01, 2023
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed too important pieces of labor rights' legislation on Saturday: one that would have given unemployment insurance to striking workers and another that would have extended protections to domestic employees.
Newsom's vetoes come as both California and the nation have seen a number of high profile strikes this year, including by Hollywood writers and actors.
"This veto tips the scales further in favor of corporations and CEOs and punishes workers who exercise their fundamental right to strike," California Labor Federation leader Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher said in a statement. "At a time when public support of unions and strikes are at an all-time high, this veto is out-of-step with American values."
Senate Bill 799, which passed in September, would have offered unemployment insurance to workers on strike for 14 days or more. It came while both the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) were out on strike in the first writer and actor double-feature work stoppage in 60 years.
In a statement, Newsom said he was vetoing the bill for economic reasons, arguing that the state's unemployment insurance had been governed by the same financial structure since the 1980s, was "vulnerable to insolvency," and already expected to be almost $20 billion in debt by the end of the year.
"Now is not the time to increase costs or incur this sizable debt," Newsom said.
However, The Sacramento Beepointed out that Newsom's veto might have been made politically easier by the fact that the WGA ended its strike Wednesday after reaching a tentative deal with the studios.
Democratic State Sen. Anthony Portantino, who introduced the bill, said he thought the summer's labor actions only showed how necessary the bill was.
"I am disappointed in the Governor's veto," he tweeted. But he said the fight wasn't over.
"The need continues and so will efforts to make this law in CA," he said.
Also on Saturday, Newsom delivered another blow to the state labor movement when he vetoed SB 686 to give domestic workers protections under the state's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
"I'm deeply disappointed that the governor doesn't recognize the inherent worth and dignity of those women who care for our homes and families by vetoeing SB 686," tweeted the bill's author Sen. María Elena Durazo. "That measure would've insured that domestic workers have the same occupational health and safety protections as others."
This is the second time that Newsom has vetoed a Durazo bill along similar lines, the Los Angeles Timesreported. The last was in 2020.
Newsom argued then and now that it is not possible to regulate private homes like businesses. For example, the bill would have required homes that asked cleaners to use bleach to provide eyewash stations.
"I am particularly concerned given that approximately 44% of the households that employ domestic workers are low-income themselves, that this bill creates severe cost burdens and penalties for many people who cannot afford them," he wrote in his veto message.
The bill was backed by the California Domestic Workers Coalition and immigrant rights groups like the Instituto de Education Popular del Sur de California.
Nancy Zuniga, a program manager for that group and a supporter of the bill, said she was inspired by her mother who is still cleaning homes at 63, though Zuniga hopes she can retire.
"If we don’t protect domestic workers, what condition will she be in when she reaches that moment?" she asked the LA Times. "A lot of them will do this until they pass."
According to a 2020 report from the University of California, Los Angeles, 85% of domestic workers live with muscular and skeletal injuries.
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'Meet the Needs of People': CBPP Pres. Parrott Tells Congress How to Avoid the Next Shutdown Showdown
"In divided government, appropriations bills must be bipartisan to pass," Sharon Parrott said, adding that the House must "shift its approach."
Oct 01, 2023
With a government shutdown narrowly avoided hours from the midnight Sunday deadline, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities president Sharon Parrott had advice for how lawmakers could move forward.
"With a stopgap measure in place, Congress needs to pass funding bills that meet the needs of people, communities, and the economy and eschew cuts already rejected in the debt ceiling agreement," Parrott wrote Saturday on the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
Parrott noted that the House was only able to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government temporarily funded Saturday when Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) abandoned attempts to pass partisan spending bills and instead pivoted to a bipartisan, clean CR with no additional social spending cuts or right-wing policies tacked on.
"They shouldn't repeat this mistake as Congress moves to complete full-year funding bills that meet the nation's needs."
"In divided government, appropriations bills must be bipartisan to pass," Parrott continued Saturday. "That's how the Senate has crafted funding bills this year, and today's House CR vote shows it is the only path forward. But that means the House needs to shift its approach."
In an August report, David Reich of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) observed that the House appropriations bills up until that point had been passed along partisan lines, with Republicans including steeper cuts to non-military spending than those negotiated in the debt ceiling agreement, rolling back Inflation Reduction Act funding earmarked for addressing the climate crisis and modernizing the Internal Revenue Service, and tacked on riders attacking LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice, and reproductive freedom.
"The House's sharply partisan approach is likely to make it harder to reach an agreement on final funding bills," he predicted accurately.
Now that the House has passed a temporary clean CR, Parrott urged Republicans to learn from the experience.
"It took House Republicans too long to abandon their partisan approach of deep cuts and controversial riders in a CR," Parrott said. "They shouldn't repeat this mistake as Congress moves to complete full-year funding bills that meet the nation's needs."
If they return to pushing cuts and poison pills, she warned, "that would only waste more time and risk more shutdown drama."
Whether House Republicans will heed her advice remains to be seen. As of Sunday, most of the talk within the party revolved around whether or not the far-right flank would challenge McCarthy's speakership over Saturday's compromise.
Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) toldABC News' This Week that he planned to file a motion in the coming week to remove McCarthy.
"I am relentless and I will continue pursue this objective," Gaetz said.
In response, McCarthy told Gaetz to "Bring it on" when speaking withCBS's Face the Nation.
"Let's get over with it and let's start governing," he said.
In a Sunday appearance on CNN's State of the Union, however, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioned the Republicans' ability to do that.
"The Republican Party right now is completely out of step with the American people," she said, observing that even self-described moderates had voted for spending bills that would cut funding for low-income schools by 80%.
"This is not a moderate party, period," she said. "There are not moderates in the Republican Party."
As a shutdown loomed, She said the party had "run around the House like a Roomba until they found a door that House Democrats opened."
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'If We Elect Clowns, We Get a Circus': Congress Narrowly Avoids Shutdown, For Now
Despite Saturday's reprieve, Sen. John Fetterman warned that "pushing the snooze button solves nothing, because these same losers will try to pull the same shit in 45 days."
Sep 30, 2023
A government shutdown was averted Saturday night after the Senate voted 89 to 9 to approve a stopgap spending measure passed by the House of Representatives that afternoon.
The agreement funds the government for 45 days and includes an additional $16 billion in disaster funding as New York City mops up from flash flooding following an extreme rain storm. It does not include aid for Ukraine.
"It has been a day full of twists and turns, but the American people can breathe a sigh of relief," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor. "There will be no government shutdown."
"This is not entertainment, it’s governance. We must not allow the Freedom Caucus to turn our government into The Steve Wilkos Show."
The bill now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature.
"This is good news for the American people," Biden said in a statement. "But I want to be clear: We never should have been in this position in the first place."
Biden criticized far-right Republicans in the House for demanding cuts beyond what the president had negotiated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in a deal that progressives had already criticized for slashing programs for needy Americans and pushing through the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline.
"They failed," Biden said of the far-right bloc.
MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting pointed out on social media that "this entire crisis was a GOP manufactured one."
"The Republican controlled House of Reps couldn’t get their act together, and their endless infighting only transpired into bare minimum alignment at the 11th hour," Epting said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) celebrated the fact that the far-right bid to enshrine even steeper cuts to the social safety net did not succeed.
"I’m delighted that Congress was able to avoid a painful and unnecessary shutdown," he tweeted. "I'm also pleased that programs working families need were not cut and that there was a good increase in funds for disaster relief which will help Vermonters rebuild from July’s terrible flooding."
Sen John Fetterman (D-Pa.), however, pointed out that the Republicans could force a similar crisis again on November 17 when the stopgap agreement expires.
"I voted at 8:30 pm on a Saturday night, that’s my job. But the American people should never have to worry about their government shutting down," Fetterman posted on social media. "Pushing the snooze button solves nothing, because these same losers will try to pull the same shit in 45 days."
"I voted yes tonight to keep the government open, but I’m done normalizing this dysfunction," he continued. "This is not entertainment, it’s governance. We must not allow the Freedom Caucus to turn our government into The Steve Wilkos Show."
Epting also expressed concern about what would happen when the deal expired.
"We do this all over again in 45 days, and Republicans will shut the government down then," Epting said. "This likely leads to more instability and extremism in the House as the far right will try to remove McCarthy over this. If we elect clowns, we get a circus."
Before the larger budget fight, Congress is now poised to take up the question of additional funding for Ukraine, something Biden, Schumer, and Sanders all flagged as a priority.
House Democratic leadership also said they expected a House vote on Ukraine funding soon in a statement reported by Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News.
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