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3 Months Into COVID-19 Pandemic: Billionaires Boom as Middle Class Implodes
Billionaires see net worth skyrocket $584 billion or 20% since beginning of pandemic.
America's billionaires saw their wealth increase by 20%, or $584 billion, roughly since the beginning of the pandemic, as 45.5 million Americans lost their jobs and the economy cratered, according to a new report by Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) and the Institute for Policy Studies--Program on Inequality (IPS).
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.
The top five billionaires--Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison--saw their wealth grow by a total of $101.7 billion, or 26%. They captured 17.4% of the total wealth growth of all 600-plus billionaires in the last three months. The fortunes of Bezos and Zuckerberg together grew by nearly $76 billion, or 13% of the $584 billion total.
"This orgy of wealth shows how fundamentally flawed our economic system is," said Frank Clemente, ATF's executive director. "In three months about 600 billionaires increased their wealth by far more than the nation's governors say their states need in fiscal assistance to keep delivering services to 330 million residents. Their wealth increased twice as much as the federal government paid out in one-time checks to more than 150 million Americans. If this pandemic reveals anything, it's how unequal our society has become and how drastically it must change."
"The last thing U.S. society needs is more economic and racial polarization," said Chuck Collins, director of the Institute for Policy Studies Program on Inequality and co-author of the Billionaire Bonanza 2020 report. "The surge in billionaire wealth and pandemic profiteering undermines the unity and solidarity that the American people will require to recover and grow together, not pull further apart."
During the same approximate three-month period nearly 2.1 million Americans fell ill with the virus and about 118,000 died from it. Among other pandemic victims are 27 million Americans who may lose their 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.
Wealth growth of other select billionaires in the top 30 on the Forbes June 17 list are below.
List above includes 13 billionaires who are among the top 37 billionaires as of June 17, 2020.
Sources: All data analyzed by ATF and IPS is from Forbes and available here.
March 18, 2020, data is from the Forbes World's Billionaires List: The Richest in 2020.
June 17, 2020 data was taken from Forbes real-time estimates of worth that day.
Remarkably, 12 billionaires more than doubled their wealth over the last three months. One of them, Trevor Milton, the founder of Nikola Motor that is building semi-trucks powered by batteries and hydrogen, increased his wealth more than five times.
Institute for Policy Studies turns Ideas into Action for Peace, Justice and the Environment. We strengthen social movements with independent research, visionary thinking, and links to the grassroots, scholars and elected officials. I.F. Stone once called IPS "the think tank for the rest of us." Since 1963, we have empowered people to build healthy and democratic societies in communities, the US, and the world. Click here to learn more, or read the latest below.
Democrats, Progressives Call On Menendez to Resign After Bribery Conviction
"He must resign today or be immediately expelled," said one watchdog leader.
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez faced fresh pressure to resign on Tuesday after his federal corruption trial ended with a jury finding him guilty on all 16 counts for accepting bribes from three businessmen and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
"In light of this guilty verdict, Sen. Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said of the New Jersey Democrat, who had pleaded not guilty.
Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement that the verdict "demonstrates that the senator broke the law, violated the trust of his constituents, and betrayed his oath of office. It also shows that in America, everyone—no matter how powerful—is accountable to our laws."
Murphy continued:
Sen. Menendez received a fair trial and due process of law as he was entitled to under our Constitution. I want to thank all the public servants who play crucial roles in our criminal justice system, including our law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defense attorneys, jurors, and judges. Their hard work ensured that these brazen crimes were proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and our nation is grateful for their service.
I reiterate my call for Sen. Menendez to resign immediately after being found guilty of endangering national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system. If he refuses to vacate his office, I call on the U.S. Senate to vote to expel him. In the event of a vacancy, I will exercise my duty to make a temporary appointment to ensure the people of New Jersey have the representation they deserve.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington president Noah Bookbinder, a former federal corruption prosecutor, similarly released a statement calling on the Senate to act if Menendez refuses to leave voluntarily.
"After years of ducking accountability for corruption, Sen. Bob Menendez has finally been convicted by a jury of his peers," he said. "There is no room in the Senate for a convicted felon, especially not one convicted of taking bribes. He must resign today or be immediately expelled."
Menendez was initially indicted in September for allegedly taking bribes in the form of "cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value." He swiftly stepped down as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but remained in the chamber, despite calls for his resignation as the charges mounted.
The verdict was delivered at a federal courthouse in New York City on Tuesday. The Associated Pressreported that "as the verdict was read in court, Menendez, 70, looked toward the jury at times as he appeared to mark a document in front of him. Afterward, he sat resting his chin against his closed hands, elbows on the table."
Menendez did not testify at the trial—the conclusion of which comes as he is running for another Senate term as an Independent against Democratic Congressman Andy Kim and Curtis Bashaw, a Republican real estate developer.
"I'm deeply disappointed by the jury's decision," Menendez told reporters outside the courthouse, adding that he plans to appeal. "I have never violated my public oath. I've never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country."
The senator previously faced unrelated corruption charges in 2017, but that trial ended with a deadlocked jury. In this case, his wife, Nadine Menendez, was also charged. She has pleaded not guilty. Her trial was postponed so she could recover from breast cancer surgery.
'I Am Not a Terrorist': Letters From Gaza Children Decry Daily Horrors of Israeli Assault
"We live in a constant state of fear and anxiety, with shells accompanying us around the clock, reaping lives, sparing only those fortunate enough to survive," one Palestinian girl wrote to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
A U.K.-based humanitarian group on Tuesday delivered "heartbreaking" letters from two Palestinian girls—including one who lost her arm in an Israeli attack—imploring new Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer to "intervene and help bring about a permanent cease-fire" in Gaza.
"We write to you with hearts full of sorrow and spirits crushed by the daily suffering inflicted upon us by the brutal war," wrote 15-year-old Mais Abdel Hadi, president of the youth-led Palestinian Children's Council, in a letter presented to Starmer's office in London by the charity Christian Aid. Palestinian Children's Council is a partner of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
"We live in a constant state of fear and anxiety, with shells accompanying us around the clock, reaping lives, sparing only those fortunate enough to survive," said Hadi, whose family is forcibly displaced due to the destruction of their home. "Destruction and devastation surround us on all sides. Our question is: Why must we children pay such a horrendous price?"
"Our question is: Why must we children pay such a horrendous price?"
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, an average of 58 children have been killed each day—approximately 16,000 in total—since Israel launched its retaliatory assault and siege of Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks last October 7.
The ministry—whose figures have been deemed reliable by Israeli intelligence—says that Israeli bombs and bullets have wounded more than 34,000 other Palestinian children, and that thousands more are missing and presumed dead and buried beneath the rubble of bombed-out homes and other buildings. Over 17,000 other Gazan children are orphaned.
"We wake up every day to the sound of bombs and rockets, with no safe place to seek refuge," Hadi stated. "This violent war has taken our homes, schools, families, relatives, friends, and classmates. It has forced us to sleep in poor tents and in the open air, our bodies scorched by the sun during the day and deprived of sleep at night due to constant airstrikes and random shelling."
"We need your support and urgent intervention to end this tragedy," she stressed to the newly-elected prime minister.
Hadi continued:
We demand an immediate cease-fire and the establishment of peace because we, the children of Palestine, deserve to live in safety and peace. We also urge you to work on rebuilding our schools and hospitals that have been destroyed and to provide the necessary psychological and educational support so we can regain our lives and futures.
Stop the death by starvation, the killing by denying medicine, and the destruction of health centers. Bring back life through songs, poems, and music. We are children who hope for a dignified life and do not wish for anyone to suffer.
Save our lives, dreams, and rights, and preserve our childhood. We are not just numbers or news in media reports; we are living souls, carrying hope in our hearts, awaiting your swift and effective action.
Sixteen-year-old Hala Abu Saleem, one of the thousands of child amputees in Gaza, asked: "Will my hand grow back? Or am I condemned to live without an arm?"
"I am not a terrorist to be exterminated," asserted Saleem, whose family is also forcibly displaced after their home was bombed. "I am not a terrorist for my house to be destroyed and my family killed. I am not a terrorist to live in a tent that is scorching during the day and freezing at night, unfit even for animals!"
"It's time for you to bear the consequences of your mistakes from over a century ago," Saleem added. The British Empire ruled Palestine in the early 20th century and facilitated Zionist colonization before reversing the policy amid resistance from the existing Arab population.
"End the occupation," she begged. "Stop the genocide!"
Starmer, who became prime minister on July 5, has given no indication that his administration will depart from the previous Conservative government's nearly unconditional support for Israel. As opposition leader, he sparked widespread outrage in Britain—a country that has seen massive pro-Palestine demonstrations over the past nine months—and beyond by initially supporting Israel's "right" to cut off water and electricity in Gaza, acts cited as evidence of genocide. He later retracted his statement.
The United Nations Children's Fund has described Gaza as "the most dangerous place in the world to be a child." More children were killed in the first four months of Israel's Gaza onslaught than in all the world's wars over the past four years, according to the U.N.'s Palestine relief agency. Israeli forces have allegedly deliberately targeted and executed children. Israeli warplanes are dropping shrapnel-packed fragmentation bombs that doctors say are eviscerating children's bodies and causing a "constant flow of amputations."
Israel also stands accused of using starvation as a weapon of war, killing dozens of children by malnutrition, dehydration, and lack of medical care.
In addition to killing, maiming, starving, and orphaning children, Israel's war has wrought what one Gaza mother described as "the complete psychological destruction" of youth living in the enclave.
Last month, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres added Israel to the so-called "List of Shame" of countries that kill and injure children during wars and other armed conflicts.
Israel's conduct in the 283-day war—which has left more than 137,500 Palestinians in Gaza dead, maimed, or missing—is under investigation by the International Court of Justice in a South Africa-led genocide case.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is also seeking to arrest Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes including extermination and forced starvation. Khan also applied for warrants to arrest three senior leaders of Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2006.
Trump's Pick of Vance Shows GOP 'Will Stop at Nothing to Ban All Abortion' in US
"A Trump-Vance administration will be the most dangerous administration for abortion and reproductive freedom in this country’s history."
Reproductive rights advocates are warning that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's selection of U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate proves that "a Trump administration will stop at nothing to ban all abortion" at the federal level, as one leader said.
"Make no mistake, Trump picked him because of—not in spite of—his anti-abortion bona fides," said Mini Timmaraju, the group's president and CEO, in response to Monday's announcement. "A Trump-Vance administration will be the most dangerous administration for abortion and reproductive freedom in this country's history. We must re-elect President Biden and Vice President Harris to not only restore our rights but to safeguard our democracy."
With Vance saying in 2022 that he supports a "minimum national standard" for an abortion ban and arguing that "two wrongs don't make a right" when explaining why he doesn't believe a person who survives rape or incest should be permitted to terminate a resulting pregnancy, Reproductive Freedom for All said it's clear the vice presidential nominee would continue working "in lockstep with extremist Republican" to ban abortion care nationwide.
As U.S. voters have resoundingly shown their support for abortion rights following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022—with traditionally red states like Kansas and Kentucky among those that have rejected efforts to restrict abortion—Trump and the GOP have recently attempted to portray themselves as "moderating" their views on the matter in recent months.
In April Trump declined to publicly endorse a nationwide 15-week abortion ban, saying the issue of abortion rights should be decided by "the law of the state," while the GOP platform released last week omitted a section calling for a nationwide ban—efforts that reproductive rights groups warned should not allay fears about the party's actual views on abortion care.
Advocates said Vance's own voting history and positions have clearly exposed how a second Trump administration would govern on reproductive freedom.
Shortly after Trump announced his vice presidential pick, The Lever reported on an effort Vance embarked on last year to rescind a federal privacy rule barring police from accessing the medical records of people who seek abortions.
The Biden administration introduced the rule in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and cleared the way for 14 states to ban abortion care. The rule is aimed at stopping police in anti-abortion states from tracking down people who have crossed state lines to receive care and prosecuting them.
As The Lever noted, the right-wing political agenda Project 2025, which Vance has said contains "good ideas," calls for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to "ensure that every state reports exactly how many abortions take place within its borders, at what gestational age of the child, for what reason, the mother's state of residence, and by what method."
Vance joined 28 other GOP lawmakers last year in pushing HHS to withdraw the privacy rule, and would likely help bring that effort to fruition if he and Trump win the November election.
The senator's opposition to the right to privacy for patients who obtain abortions is a "five-alarm fire," said Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of progressive advocacy group Indivisible.
Vance recently has attempted to distance himself from his own extreme views on abortion, saying last year that Americans "do not want blanket abortion bans" and that laws must include exceptions to protect the life of a pregnant patient. He has also been denounced by some in the pro-forced pregnancy movement for saying he supports access to mifepristone, a pill used in medication abortions.
But Indivisible urged voters to see for themselves how Vance describes his views on the matter on his official website, where he states that "abortion has turned our country into a place where we see children as an inconvenience to be thrown away."
Reproductive Freedom for All added that Vance dodged a question in December 2023 about whether he is among the Republican lawmakers who oppose access to birth control.
In June, Vance voted against a bill to affirm that Americans have the right to seek in vitro fertilization—yet attacks on people who do not have children have become a key talking point for the senator. He has criticized the "childless left" and said politicians including Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Vice President Kamala Harris—who don't have biological children of their own—do not "have a direct stake in the future of the country."
"J.D. Vance is an extremist weirdo who just blocked a bill to protect IVF and suggested in his book that people should stay in violent marriages for the sake of their kids," said Evergreen Action organizer Courtney Bourgoin after the selection was made public. "Yes, Trump 2.0 would be far worse than the first time."