WASHINGTON–Over the past year credit unions across the country have worked to respond to the often bifurcated economic situation created by the coronavirus, with many members feeling extreme financial stress and others largely immune to any effects.
Just how divided the experiences have been for many over the past year can be seen in new data released in a study by Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). The two organizations used information from Forbes to track the fortunes of America's richest people for one year starting on March 18, 2020.
The difference between how America's richest people and the rest of the country has fared in this time period is “stark,” according to the organizations.
The report found America's 657 billionaires got 44% richer during the pandemic while more than 80 million people in the U.S. lost their jobs.
‘Astonishing Rise in Wealth’
"The pandemic has created an astonishing rise in wealth for the nation's billionaires while tens of millions of Americans fell further behind," Frank Clemente, executive director of ATF, said in a statement. "Billionaires are living in a different world from the rest of us."
Jeff Bezos, with his $183.9 billion fortune, is the richest man in the U.S. and the world.
The report cited Bloomberg's Billionaire Index (which updates in near-real time) which found Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the cofounders of Google, have seen the biggest respective increases to their net worth among American billionaires since the pandemic broke out. From March 24, 2020, to March 24, 2021, Page added $11.8 billion to his $94.3 billion fortune. Brin's $91.2 billion fortune has grown by $11.4 billion in the same time period.
Berkshire Hathaway CEO and chairman Warren Buffett has seen the third-biggest net-worth growth in this time. His $95.1 billion fortune got a $7.4 billion boost in the past year, per Bloomberg statistics.
The past year also saw the minting of 43 new billionaires in the U.S., the analysis shows.