- Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk alone increased their net worth by $ 217 billion last year, according to Bloomberg.
- For this amount, more than 100 million Americans can receive checks for $ 2,000.
- Collectively, the net worth of the 500 richest people in the world has increased to about $ 1.8 trillion, an increase of 31% that represents the largest annual gain in the eight years that Bloomberg has followed these figures.
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While many Americans have been affected economically by the coronavirus pandemic and are now awaiting a Congressional decision on whether to receive a $ 2,000 stimulus check soon, the world’s richest people made record gains in 2020.
Last year, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk collectively increased their net worth by $ 217 billion last year, an amount that could cut $ 2,000 in checks for more than 100 million Americans.
The richest person in the world, the CEO of Amazon Bezos, is now worth about $ 190 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. And Tesla’s founder and CEO, Elon Musk, came in second with about $ 170 billion, surpassing Microsoft’s Bill Gates.
Musk’s net worth, in particular, grew faster in 2020, Bloomberg reported. His net worth is mainly made up of Tesla shares, of which he holds about 75%, according to Bloomberg.
These numbers occur because millions of people in the United States remain unemployed due to the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
In March, Congress approved the first coronavirus stimulus package, which included $ 1,200 in direct payments to Americans. It was an attempt to make up for the financial ruin after small businesses across the country were closed to prevent the virus from spreading.
The Americans waited nine months to receive a second stimulus check. In December, Congress finally reached agreement on the second stimulus package, an agreement that included checks for $ 600 for taxpayers.
But the House and Senate are once again at odds as House Democrats are pushing for checks for $ 2,000. Senate Republicans, led by majority leader Mitch McConnell, repeatedly repressed the effort.
Meanwhile, employment rates have been steadily increasing in the US. But the November Department of Labor jobs report said that about 15 million people did not work that month because of the pandemic.
Overall, the outlook is much more bleak.
In a report released last year, the World Bank predicted that global poverty would increase in 2020 for the first time in more than two decades because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The most recent and immediate threat to poverty reduction, COVID-19, has unleashed a global economic disaster whose shock waves continue to spread,” says an overview from the World Bank. “Without an adequate global response, the cumulative effects of the pandemic and its economic consequences, armed conflicts and climate change will entail high human and economic costs in the future.”
Collectively, the net worth of the 500 richest people in the world grew by about $ 1.8 trillion last year, according to Bloomberg. It is an increase of 31% that represents the biggest annual gain in the eight years that Bloomberg followed these numbers.