Only 400 Americans ‘own’ 13 percent of US wealth

AS MILLIONS of Americans still wallow in poverty—34 million in 2019, according to the United States Census Bureau—and their situation made more difficult by the economic devastation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the concentration of wealth in the United States in the hands of the very few also continues

According to the September 8, 2020 issue of Forbes Magazine, a mere 400 Americans out of US’ 328 million population, increased their wealth further by a whooping US$3.2 trillion.

“Pandemic be damned,” as the opening sentence of the article stressed, these Americans even increased their wealth by $240 billion from last year, an amount that is more than half of the Philippines’ 2019 GNP (gross national product) of $415.75 billion.

And of this elite 400, the “Top 10,” headed by Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos (net worth, $179 billion), cornered $2.873 trillion, or 90 percent while the remaining 10 percent ($327 billion) is shared by the remaining 390 “wealthiest Americans.”

The total accumulated wealth of Forbes’ “400” represent about 13 percent of the American economy, which was valued at around $21.44 trillion in 2019, if measured on “purchasing power parity” (PPP).

Bezos, now also the owner of the prestigious, ‘Washington Post,’ has topped the Forbes list three years in a row now, with his personal wealth increasing by 57 percent compared to last year (refer to the tables below).

Kevin Reed, writing for the ‘World Socialist Website’ noted, “The richest (in America) have seen their wealth rise while tens of millions of workers lost their jobs and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by an annualized rate of 34.3 percent during the coronavirus economic shutdown in the second quarter of 2020, the lowest on record.

“Meanwhile, the $600 federal supplement to unemployment payments which had provided a lifeline to those put out of work by coronavirus restrictions has been cut off since the end of July (2020), plunging millions into misery or forcing them to return to work under unsafe conditions.”

Reed added: “First of all, recent reports show that 40 percent of Americans have a negative net worth.

“This means that their debts, such as loans, credit cards and student debt, are greater than their assets, such as a car or a house or savings in a bank account.

“Still, the median net worth of American families (not individual workers) is $97,300.

“This means that the former Bezos family has a net worth that is equal to 2.4 million times that of a median family’s net worth.”