A report released by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), a think tank based in Washington, D.C., revealed that billionaire wealth not only rebounds from economic crashes but also profits in times of uncertainty.
Analyzing data from Bloomberg and Forbes independent billionaire indexes, the “Billionaire Bonanza 2020” report said the collective wealth of U.S. billionaires has rebounded by $282 billion during the peak of the lockdown from March 18 to April 10.
After a decline in total wealth from 2019 to 2020, dropping from $3.111 trillion to $2.974 trillion, by April 10 “their wealth had surged to $3.229 trillion, surpassing the 2019 level.”
The report reiterated the aftermath of the economic crisis of 2008: billionaire wealth tends to rebound from market crashes, and typically at a faster rate than the rest of the economy.
But some of the billionaires do more than rebound. Eight billionaires have seen gains of over $1 billion this year, according to the IPS.
Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX has also profited during the pandemic with an increase in wealth of $5 billion. After New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted for Musk’s help to fill the city’s gap in medical equipment, SpaceX partnered with Medtronic, a medical device company, to increase production of ventilators and Tesla began working on prototypes from used car parts.
Other billionaires on the list include Steve Ballmer, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, and Rocco Commisso, the founder of Mediacom Communications.
In the past three decades, billionaire wealth in the U.S. has soared 1,130 percent. This number is more than 200 times the growth of U.S. median wealth over the same period.
At the same time, tax obligations of American billionaires has shrunk. The report claimed it has decreased 79 percent between 1980 and 2008.
The number of billionaires in America has grown from 66 in 1990 to 615 in 2020, with their collective wealth totaling $2.947 trillion this year.
As the disparity in wealth continues to grow, the IPS recommended the establishment of a Pandemic Profiteering Oversight Committee to monitor the stimulus package and institution of excess profits taxes.
