U.S CAPITALISM

U.S. Oligarchic Dozen Now Own $1 Trillion in Total Wealth, More Than the GDP of Belgium and Austria Combined

A Journal of People report

New research by the Washington D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) showed that since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the 12 top U.S. billionaires have seen their combined wealth soar by 40 percent, or $283 billion, to more than $1 trillion.

It is the first time in U.S. history that the collective net worth of the top 12 American billionaires has topped the trillion-dollar mark.

What the IPS terms the “Oligarchic Dozen” includes Jeff Bezos ($189.4 billion), Bill Gates ($114 billion), Mark Zuckerberg ($95.5 billion), Warren Buffett ($80 billion), Elon Musk ($73 billion), Steve Ballmer ($71 billion), Larry Ellison ($70.9 billion), Larry Page ($67.4 billion), Sergey Brin ($65.6 billion), Alice Walton ($62.5 billion), Jim Walton ($62.3 billion), and Rob Walton ($62 billion).

“This is a disturbing milestone in the US history of concentrated wealth and power. This is simply too much economic and political power in the hands of 12 people. From the point of view of a democratic self-governing society, this represents an Oligarchic Twelve or a Despotic Dozen,” said the report.

IPS researchers Chuck Collins and Omar Ocampo wrote that, “During the first stage of the pandemic, between January 1 and March 18, the collective wealth of the Oligarchic Dozen declined by $96 billion. But their wealth quickly rebounded and surpassed their September 2019 Forbes 400 wealth level. The only exception is Warren Buffett, who is still $2 billion below his September 2019 wealth, but is currently worth $80 billion.”

The research showed that Elon Musk has been the biggest pandemic profiteer, seeing his wealth triple from $24.6 billion on March 18 to $73 billion on August 13 – an increase of $48.5 billion or 197 percent.

Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos was worth $189.4 billion in August – up $76 billion or 68 percent since March – while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was worth $95.5 billion, having increased his worth by $40.8 billion or 75 percent.

“The total wealth of the Oligarchic Dozen is greater than the GDP of Belgium and Austria combined,” said Ocampo. “Meanwhile, tens of millions of Americans are unemployed or living paycheck to paycheck, and 170,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the United States.”

Chuck Collins and Omar Ocampo write:

“For the first time in U.S. history, the top 12 U.S. billionaires surpassed a combined wealth of $1 trillion. On Thursday, August 13th, these 12 had a combined $1.015 trillion.

“This is simply too much economic and political power in the hands of 12 people, and is a disturbing milestone in the history of concentrated wealth and power in the U.S. From the point of view of a democratic self-governing society, this represents an Oligarchic Twelve or a Despotic Dozen.” (“Twelve US Billionaires Have a Combined $1 Trillion”, August 17, 2020, Originally in Inequality.org)”

Chuck Collins directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he also co-edits Inequality.org. Omar Ocampo is a researcher for the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies.

On May 21, 2020, Chuck Collins wrote in another report (“US Billionaire Wealth Surges $434 Billion as Unemployment Filers Top 38 Million”, IPS, https://ips-dc.org/us-billionaire-wealth-surges-434-billion-as-unemployment-filers-top-38-million/):

“The number of U.S. citizens filing for unemployment increased to 38.6 million since March 18, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Over the same two months, the wealth of U.S. billionaires has surged $434 billion – an increase of 15 percent.

“The combined fortunes of Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg alone grew by nearly $60 billion during these two months, according to a new analysis, jointly released by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies, which released Billionaire Bonanza 2020 in April to examine billionaire wealth during the first month of the pandemic.

“Between March 18 and May 19, the total net worth of the 600-plus U.S. billionaires rose from $2.948 trillion to $3.382 trillion. In March, there were 614 billionaires on the Forbes list. There are 630 two months later, including newcomer Kanye West at $1.3 billion.

“Among other COVID-19 victims are the more than 16 million Americans who have likely lost employer-provided healthcare coverage. Low-wage workers, people of color and women have suffered disproportionately in the combined medical and economic crises. Billionaires are overwhelmingly white men.”

Chuck Collins’ June 4, 20200 report – (“Billionaire Pandemic Wealth Gains Surge Past Half-Trillion as 42.6 million File for Unemployment”, https://ips-dc.org/billionaire-pandemic-wealth-gains-surge-past-half-trillion-42-6-million-file-unemployment/) said:

“In a turbulent week across nation, U.S. billionaire wealth has surged past half a trillion dollars since the beginning of the pandemic unemployment.

“The announcement on June 4th that 1.9 million more Americans have filed for unemployment in the last week brings total unemployment filings to over 42.6 million since March 18th, according to the U.S.  Bureau of Labor Statistics. This does not include millions more workers who have applied for help as self-employed workers.

“Over these same 11 weeks, between March 18th and June 4, the cumulative total wealth of U.S. billionaires has increased $565 billion, an increase of 19.15 percent.

“The markets have risen, but certain individual fortunes have surged significantly over market gains.”

Chuck Collins’ June 18, 20200 report – (“US Billionaire Wealth Surges to $584 Billion, or 20 Percent, Since the Beginning of the Pandemic”, https://ips-dc.org/us-billionaire-wealth-584-billion-20-percent-pandemic/) said:

“As the Federal Reserve reported during the week of June 10th, more than $6.5 trillion in household wealth vanished during the first three months of this year as the pandemic tightened its hold on the global economy.

“‘This is the biggest economic shock in the U.S. and in the world, really, in living memory,’ Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell told reporters on June 10th. ‘We went from the lowest level of unemployment in 50 years to the highest level in close to 90 years, and we did it in two months.’

“Since March 18th, the US Billionaire class has seen their wealth increase by 20%, or $584 billion, since the rough beginning of the pandemic, as 45.5 million Americans filed for unemployment and the economy cratered, according to a new analysis by Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) and the Institute for Policy Studies – Program on Inequality (IPS), building on the IPS Billionaire Bonanza 2020 report.

“Overall, between March 18—the rough start date of the pandemic shutdown, when most federal and state economic restrictions were in place—and June 17, the total net worth of the 640-plus U.S. billionaires jumped from $2.948 trillion to $3.531 trillion, based on the two groups’ analysis of Forbes data. Since March 18, the date Forbes released its annual report on billionaires’ wealth, the U.S. added 29 more billionaires, increasing from 614 to 643. During the same three months, over 45.5 million people filed for unemployment, according to the Department of Labor.”