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- Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk alone increased their net worth by $ 217 billion last year, according to Bloomberg.
- For that amount, more than 100 million Americans can receive checks for $ 2,000.
- Collectively, the net worth of the richest 500 people in the world has grown to around $ 1.8 trillion, a 31% increase that is the largest annual gain in the eight years Bloomberg has tracked these numbers.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
While many Americans have been economically devastated by the coronavirus pandemic and now await a decision from Congress on whether they will soon receive a $ 2,000 stimulus check, the richest people in the world have made gains. records in 2020.
Last year, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk collectively increased their net worth by $ 217 billion last year, an amount that could reduce the checks of more than 100 million Americans by $ 2,000.
The richest person in the world, Amazon CEO Bezos, is now worth around $ 190 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. And Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk took second place with around $ 170 billion, overtaking Microsoft’s Bill Gates.
Musk’s net worth, in particular, grew the fastest in 2020, Bloomberg reported. His net worth is mostly made up of Tesla stocks, of which he owns around 75%, according to Bloomberg.
The figures come as millions of people in the United States remain unemployed due to the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Congress passed the first coronavirus stimulus package in March, which included $ 1,200 in direct payments to Americans. It was an attempt to offset the financial ruin after the country’s small businesses shut down to curb the spread of the virus.
Americans waited nine months to receive a second stimulus check. In December, Congress finally struck a deal on the second stimulus package, a deal that included checks for $ 600 to taxpayers.
But the House and Senate are at odds again as House Democrats push for $ 2,000 checks to be issued. Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have repeatedly canceled the effort.
Meanwhile, employment rates keep rising in the United States. But the Ministry of Labor’s November employment report said about 15 million people were not working that month due to the pandemic.
Overall, the outlook is much bleaker.
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 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The most recent and immediate threat to poverty reduction, COVID-19, has triggered a global economic catastrophe whose shockwaves continue to spread,” says a World Bank snapshot. “Without an adequate global response, the cumulative effects of the pandemic and its economic fallout, armed conflict and climate change will result in high human and economic costs in the future.”
Collectively, the net worth of the richest 500 people in the world increased by about $ 1.8 trillion last year, according to Bloomberg. That’s a 31% increase that is the biggest annual gain in the eight years Bloomberg has tracked those numbers.
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