Bezos, Musk among billionaires gaining net worth in pandemic

The wealth surge of America’s richest men happened during a period when 22 million Americans filed for unemployment

The combined wealth of America’s billionaires, including Jeff Bezos,  Amazon founder, and Elon Musk Tesla chief, increased nearly 10% during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report published by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).

The wealth surge of America’s richest men happened during a period that saw as many as 22 million Americans file for unemployment.

Fear and loathing in lockdown

Even as the broader economy faced a recession, tech and stay-at-home stocks like Zoom have rallied in recent weeks, due to a surge in usage of video conferencing and remote work technology, thus boosting the net worth of billionaire founders with holdings in those companies.

“This is the tale of two pandemics, with very unequal sacrifice,” said Chuck Collins, a co-author of the report.

During the period between January 1 to April 10 this year, 34 of the nation’s wealthiest billionaires have seen their net worth increase by tens of millions of dollars, the report said.

According to the IPS report, eight of these billionaires including Bezos, Eric Yuan,  Zoom Video Communications founder, and Musk saw a $1-billion jump in their total net worth.

US govt study suggests heat, sunlight, and humidity weaken Covid-19

Musk holds an 18.5% stake in Tesla shares, which has soared over 73% since the beginning of the year as traders looked beyond the short-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bezos owns about 15.1% in Amazon stock, which has gained nearly 31% this year as online orders on its platform have surged due to people staying indoors.

In the last decade, the wealth of US billionaires jumped over 80.6% adjusted for inflation, the report added.