JTFMax:

Half a year into a crippling national emergency, billionaires’ wealth has increased even as extraordinary federal relief for working families is drying up. This new wealth windfall could send every American family a stimulus check for $13,000.

Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) analyzed wealth data from Forbes to create this ranking of 31 billionaires worth more than the US Treasury has in cash.

1. Bernard Arnault

The chairman of luxury goods maker LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, TAG Heuer, and Dom Perignon) has a net worth estimated at $193 billion. He has climbed to the top of Forbes' real-time billionaires list, beating out Elon Musk (Tesla and SpaceX) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon).

He is known for frequently visiting his brands' retail locations. He has also made philanthropic contributions to art and medical research.

2. Elon Musk

As the co-founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, Musk leads his companies' product design, engineering, and manufacturing. He is a tech-savvy leader who follows a physics approach to business decisions.

Musk was born in South Africa and attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania to pursue dual bachelor's degrees in economics and physics.

3. Jeff Bezos

As the covid-19 pandemic continues, billionaires are reaping extraordinary financial gains. One example: Michigan’s Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans, saw his net worth surge by 543% to $41.8 billion.

Tech leaders have been sending their best wishes to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his projects, Day 1 Fund and Earth Fund. Wishes like these can help build support for a fair tax on wealth.

4. Bill Gates

As the US Treasury’s cash levels tumble toward a dangerously low level, its coffers are dwarfed by 31 billionaires. That includes household names like Michael Dell, whose purchase of Hewlett-Packard and subsequent consolidation made him the world’s largest PC and cloud services company.

Dell and Gates’ enormous personal fortunes hearken back to when a considerable stake in a business was considered a guarantee of devotion.

5. Michael Dell

We've grown accustomed to seeing billionaires running companies. But it's only sometimes the case.

Michael Dell founded his eponymous technology company in 1984 when he was 19. The company went on to make computer servers, storage systems, printers, and IT support services. In 2013, he took his company private with the help of investment firm Silver Lake. He still controls the majority of the shares and is CEO.

6. Warren Buffett

During a time when millions of Americans face loss of income, loss of jobs, and fear for their health, billionaires are raking in extraordinary financial gains. Since March 18 — the rough start date of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown — their net worth has surged to $684 billion, according to Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies Program on Inequality.

7. Mark Zuckerberg

Zuckerberg’s net worth peaked at around $142 billion in September 2021 but has dropped since then. He derives most of his fortune from his 13% stake in Meta, which was recently renamed from Facebook.

He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, signed The Giving Pledge in 2015, promising to give away most of their wealth. The couple’s philanthropic efforts focus on personalized learning, curing disease, and connecting people.

8. George Soros

The 87-year-old Hungarian-American financier made his fortune through shrewd financial speculation. He has also funded liberal democratic projects worldwide, making him a target of nationalists and populists.

Between March 18 - the rough start date for the pandemic shutdowns - and Sept 15, when Forbes magazine published its real-time billionaire's report, America's 619 billionaires saw their total net worth rise by over $3 trillion.

9. Bill Gates Jr.

Cofounder of Microsoft and a leading figure in the technology industry, Gates has given away billions to his foundation and still holds significant investments in various sectors.

According to Americans for Tax Fairness and Institute for Policy Studies, between March 18 — the rough start of the pandemic shutdowns — and Sept. 15, America’s billionaires grew $2.1 trillion richer.

Their gains were fueled by the dramatic increase in their stock prices.

10. George Soros Jr.

The octogenarian investor and progressive political donor have donated $32 billion to his Open Society Foundations since 1984. Soros is best known for his single-day profit of $1 billion by short-selling the British pound in 1992.

Soros's son, Alexander, has been shipping industrial quantities of cash to Democratic and far-left organizations. He recently attended a state dinner for Emmanuel Macron.