"In the U.S., the richest
0.1% control a bigger share of the pie than at any time since 1929."
The 500 richest people in the
world, all of whom are billionaires, gained a combined $1.2 trillion in wealth
in 2019, further exacerbating inequities that have not been seen since the late
1920s.
That's according to a
new Bloomberg analysis published
Friday, which found that the planet's 500 richest people saw their collective
net worth soar by 25 percent to $5.9 trillion over the last year.
"In the U.S., the richest
0.1 percent control a bigger share of the pie than at any time since
1929," Bloomberg noted. "The 172 American billionaires on
the Bloomberg ranking added $500 billion, with Facebook Inc.'s Mark
Zuckerberg up $27.3 billion and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates [rising]
$22.7 billion."
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index,
eight of the 10 richest people in the world are from the U.S.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos lost
nearly $9 billion in wealth in 2019, according to Bloomberg, but he will
still likely end the year as the richest man in the world with a total net
worth of $116 billion.
The analysis comes as 2020
Democratic presidential candidates, particularly Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have made tackling inequality a key component
of their policy platforms.
Warren has proposed an
annual two percent tax on assets over $50 million and a three percent tax on
assets above $1 billion.
Sanders, who has said he does
not believe billionaires should exist, is calling for a wealth tax
that would slash the fortunes of U.S. billionaires in half over 15 years,
according to his campaign.
"A small handful of
billionaires should not be able to accumulate more money than they could spend
in 10 lifetimes," Sanders said in September, "while millions of
Americans are living in poverty and dying because they can't afford
healthcare."
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