T.One of the richest people in the world has boosted their existing wealth by more than $ 400bn (£ 296bn) since the outbreak of the coronavirus outbreak as their businesses boosted with locks and financial crises across the globe.
The extra wealth accumulated by the 10 men – around $ 450bn, using Forbes figures – over the past nine months is more than the estimated £ 284bn spent by the British government on dealing with the pandemic and the economic damage it has done to its 66 million people.
In a related report, the American campaign group for Tax Equity estimates that the accumulated wealth of 651 billion American people has gone up by $ 1.1tn over the same period. Frank Clemente of Americans for Tax Fairness said:
“Their distributed profits are so great that billions of Americans could pay for Covid’s huge aid bill and not lose some of their pre-virus wealth. The growth in wealth is so great that on their own they could provide a $ 3,000 incentive to every man, woman and child in the country, and remain richer than they were nine months ago. ”
Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon, has been watching his wealth rocket with $ 70bn from March to $ 185bn higher than hundreds of millions of locked-in people at home turned to the delivery giant online to feed themselves and have fun.
Other members of the wealthy elite who saw huge financial gains during the crisis include: Elon Musk, founder of Tesla maverick; Bernard Arnault, the French billionaire who owns most of LVMH’s luxury portfolio; Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook; and Google ‘s Larry Page.
Ana Arendar, head of Oxfam’s inequality campaign, said the richest of the richest people have made money because of the coronavirus pandemic “proving beyond doubt that the global economic system is not fit for purpose.” the reason ”.
“Allowing wealth to explode while hundreds of millions are suffering is not in short supply,” she said of global governments’ action to widen inequality.
“Extreme poverty is rising for the first time in a decade and hundreds of millions of people are suffering hardship; in many cases failing in debt, skipping food and being led to poverty, ”said Arendar. “Governments need to stop pandering to the richest. The tax of wealth could hardly make a difference to the fortunes of the richest but it could provide a way of life for those who are hit harder by the pandemic. ”
While many small businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, Amazon shares have risen 90% since March.
Bezos, who started Amazon in its garage in 1994, still owns 11% of the company’s stock, in addition to the Blue Origin space travel campaign and the Washington Post. During the pandemic, his wealth has increased by 66%.
Photo: Nick Ansell / PA
Last week his ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, revealed she had donated $ 4bn to good causes in the past four months, taking her donations since the pandemic began at nearly $ 6bn. Scott has a fortune of more than $ 50bn (£ 37bn) after his divorce with Bezos last year and has pledged much of her wealth. She said Covid-19 “had been a terrible member in the lives of already struggling Americans… [but had] the wealth of the billionaire has greatly increased ”.
But the benefits of Amazon’s founder are bleak compared to those of Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of electric car company Tesla.
Musk’s fortunes rose to $ 153bn, up from $ 25bn in March, when investors pledged that the pandemic would give governments accelerated the transition from indoor combustion engines to electric vehicles. Musk, 49, owns 20% of Tesla, and is now the second richest man in the world, up from 35th in the world league record of billions back in January.
Tesla shares have risen nearly sevenfold since March as investors bet the company would be a clear leader in the future of electricity. From Monday, the company will be included in the blue S&P 500 index – news that has led to another rise in demand for shares over the past few weeks.
Bernard Arnault, the richest man in Europe, has seen his fortune double since the outbreak began, as demand for luxury brands in his LVMH stable Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton came back. Arnault’s wealth rose from $ 69bn in March to $ 148bn, making him the third richest person on the planet.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has become a philanthropist and the fourth richest man, an estimated $ 120bn fortune. Gates’ wealth has risen by about $ 20bn since March. Over the same period it has contributed billions to the development of coronavirus vaccines and health care projects related to Covid-19 pandemic.
Luke Hildyard, executive director of the High Pay Center, a think tank focusing on overpayment, said: “People may not appreciate the sheer wealth of billions. To give you some insight, just the increase in the net worth of these 10 people over the last 10 months is greater than the estimated level spent by the UK government this year fighting health and health outcomes. crown economic activity on behalf of 66 million people. ”
The other billionaires who have greatly boosted their fortunes since the start of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg pandemic, which saw its wealth rise by about 80% to $ 100bn, is investor Warren Buffett, whose 26% fortune has grown to $ 85bn, and Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, who had 50% to $ 88bn wealth. Google ‘s Larry Page increased its wealth by half to $ 76bn, its co – founder Sergey Brin saw a similar increase of $ 74bn, and Inditex founder Amancio Ortega saw his fortune rise 47% to $ 75bn.