December 23, 2020 ☼ economy ☼ pandemic ☼ inequality
Source: NPR - Link
This is FRESH AIR. I’m Terry Gross. While millions of Americans have lost their jobs because of the pandemic, the combined wealth of just 10 billionaires has increased by more than $127 billion since the beginning of the pandemic. Those billionaires include the principal owners of Amazon, Instacart, Walmart and Tyson Foods. My guest, Chuck Collins, has been writing about that and how the pandemic has increased income inequality in the U.S. Economic inequality has been his subject since he was 26 and gave away his inheritance. Collins is the great-grandson of Oscar Mayer, the founder of the meatpacking company famous for its hot dogs, the Oscar Mayer wiener, and the Wienermobile.
Of course it is. Facebook, Amazon especially. But anyone who has billions to actively invest can make a killing when consumer patterns change overnight. The article touches on Elon Musk. It is not clear to me how he manages to make so much money. It isn’t from Tesla.