Botilẹjẹpe pupọ julọ awọn ara ilu Amẹrika lọwọlọwọ koju awọn akoko lile, pẹlu alainiṣẹ ti n lu si awọn awọn ipele ti Nla şuga ati ki o tobi pupo nọmba awọn eniyan ti o ṣaisan tabi ti o ku lati ajakaye-arun ti coronavirus, ọlọrọ ọlọrọ ti orilẹ-ede jẹ iyasọtọ akiyesi.
Ni owo, they are doing remarkably well. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, between March 18 and April 28, as nearly 30 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits, the wealth of America’s 630 billionaires grew by nearly 14 percent. During April 2020 alone, their wealth increased by over $406 billion, bringing it to $3.4 trillion. According to estimates by Forbes, awọn 400 America ọlọrọ julọ ni bayi ni ọrọ pupọ bi o ti waye nipasẹ fere meji-meta ti awọn idile Amẹrika ni apapọ.
Diẹ ninu awọn Super-ọlọrọ have fared particularly well. Jeff Bezos (the wealthiest man in the world) saw his wealth soar between January 1 and early May 2020 to $142 billion―an increase of $27.5 billion. During that same period, Elon Musk’s wealth grew by $11.4 billion to $39 billion and the wealth of Steve Ballmer (ranking sixth in wealth) increased by $8 billion to $66.1 billion. The gains of Mark Zuckerberg (ranking third) were more modest, but his wealth did rise to $79.3 billion.
Although some billionaires lost money, this was not likely to put them out on the streets. The wealth of Bill Gates (ranking second) dropped from about $113 billion to $106 billion, while the wealth of Larry Ellison (ranking ninth) slipped from $58.8 billion to $58.7 billion.
During this time of economic crisis, two features of the U.S. government’s economic bailout legislation facilitated the burgeoning of billionaire fortunes: first, the provision of awọn ifunni taara si awọn ọlọrọ ati awọn ile-iṣẹ wọn, ati, keji, ẹbun ti tobi-ori fi opin si to rich Americans and their businesses. Consequently, although the U.S. economy continues to deteriorate, stock prices, helped along by this infusion of cash, are once again soaring.
In terms of health, American billionaires are also doing quite nicely, with no indication that any of them have been stricken with the coronavirus. When news of the disease hit, billionaires immediately began iyalo superyachts at fantastic prices to ride out the pandemic. As one yacht broker explained, a yacht “in a nice climate isn’t a bad place to self-isolate.” Such yachts can carry supplies that will last for months, and “clients are arranging for their children to be schooled on board, with cooking lessons from the yacht’s chef and time with the crew in the engine room learning about technology.” Miiran Super-oloro America gba ibi aabo ni awọn ohun-ini orilẹ-ede ti o dabi odi tabi fò ni awọn ọkọ ofurufu ikọkọ wọn si asiko, awọn agbegbe ikọkọ.
Of course, the ability of the rich to stave off a serious or fatal illness is enhanced by their easy access to the best of medical care. On Erekusu Fisher―a members-only location off the coast of Florida where the average income of residents is $2.2 million per year and the beaches are made from imported Bahamian sand―the residents, unlike other Floridians, had no problem purchasing thousands of rapid Covid-19 blood tests. To secure immediate and near-unlimited access to healthcare, including such tests, billionaires often employ “concierge onisegun”-fun ọya olodoodun kan ti o wuwo.
Nipa ti ara, o ṣeun si ọrọ ti o pọ si ati ilera ti o ni aabo, awọn billionaires ti Amẹrika ni anfani lati tẹsiwaju iru igbesi aye ti wọn ti mọ.
Housing is not a major problem. Although journalists have trouble keeping track of the bewildering array of mansions purchased by America’s billionaires, Jeff Bezos reportedly owns 14 ile, pẹlu kan rinle-gba $165 million Beverly Hills nla. Omiiran ti awọn ibugbe rẹ ti o dara, ti o wa ni apakan iyasoto ti Washington, DC, ni awọn yara iwosun 11 ati awọn balùwẹ 25. Biotilejepe Mark Zuckerberg o dabi ẹnipe o ni awọn ile 10 nikan, Larry Ellison ti ra awọn dosinni ti awọn ile nla ti o gbowolori iyalẹnu ati awọn ohun-ini gidi, pẹlu (ni idiyele ti $ 300 million) erekusu Hawahi kan.
O kan melo ni ile Bill Gates ni si maa wa koyewa, as he has made a number of secretive real estate purchases. Nevertheless, they include multiple luxurious horse ranches scattered across the United States. He spends most of the time, though, at Xanadu 2.0, his $127 million, 66,000 square-foot mansion in Medina, Washington. Requiring 300 workers to construct, this behemoth contains very unusual high tech features, a trampoline room with a 20-foot ceiling, six kitchens, a dining room able to seat up to 150 people for dinner, a 22-foot wide video screen, a home theater, garages for 23 cars, and 18.75 bathrooms. There is also a lakefront shore containing large quantities of sand delivered every year by a barge from the Caribbean.
The super-rich have more than enough wealth to squander upon a variety of extravagant items. Their superyachts cost as much as a billion dollars each, and boast such fixtures as night clubs, swimming pools, helipads, and even missile defense systems. In 2019, the United States ranked akọkọ ni agbaye in superyachts, with 158 in operation. Many billionaires also own private superjets, gẹgẹ bi $403 million (“ṣaaju iṣẹ isọdi eyikeyii”) “Queen of the Skies,” ti o nfihan ọfiisi kikun, yara iyẹwu, ati “yara ile ijeun ti o dara julọ ti o le yipada si yara igbimọ ajọṣepọ kan.” (Mejeeji Jeff Bezos ati Bill Gates are superjet owners.) Moreover, the ultra-affluent possess luxury car collections, multiple passports (available for millions of dollars), and gold toilets.
Billionaires ṣe koju awọn iṣoro, dajudaju, pẹlu jibi, wiwa awọn pataki ìdílé "Egba Mi O," fending si pa awọn italaya lati wọn increasingly desperate osise, Ati bori awon oselu ti o agbodo lati asiwaju taxing nla oro lati Fund pataki àkọsílẹ awọn iṣẹ.
Nevertheless, the vast gulf separating the lives of the super-rich from those of most Americans raises the issue of whether this small, parasitic stratum of U.S. society should be maintained in such splendor. Many Americans might already be wondering about this as they cope with economic collapse and ever-widening death.
Lawrence Wittner (https://www.lawrenceswittner.com/ ) jẹ Ojogbon ti Itan Itanwo ni SUNY / Albany ati onkọwe ti Iju ija bombu naa (Stanford University Press).
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