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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did US billionaires get 70% richer during the coronavirus pandemic?

Thursday, November 4, 2021

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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YES

U.S. billionaires have collectively gained $2.1 trillion during the coronavirus pandemic — a wealth increase of 70.3%, according to Forbes data from stock prices analyzed by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies. Billionaires' wealth was valued just under $3 trillion in March 2020, the beginning of the pandemic, compared to more than $5 trillion as of Oct. 15, 2021.

The number of American billionaires also increased from 614 to 745 over the same period. In 2021, the U.S. reinforced its status as the best performing region for ultra-high-net-worth individuals amid surging equity markets, government stimulus packages and ultra-low interest rates.

Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX, was the billionaire whose wealth grew the most, at 751%, causing him to surpass Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Forbes The world's real-time billionaires

Institute for Policy Studies US billionaire wealth surged by 70%, or $2.1 trillion, during pandemic.

Wealth-X Wealth-X World Ultra Wealth Report 2021

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.