Washington (AFP)
American billionaires continue to make money while the Covid-19 pandemic destroys tens of millions of jobs in the United States, according to data compiled by two think tanks.
Between March 18 and May 19, the 600 ultra rich Americans saw their fortunes increase by $ 434 billion, an increase of almost 15% in two months, according to these data published by Forbes magazine Thursday.
Containment measures, the closure of restaurants and shops have boosted online shopping and the need to stay connected via social media.
This has pushed up the value of Amazon, Facebook and high-tech companies in general.
Between March and May, the fortune of Jeff Bezos (Amazon) increased by more than 30%, and that of Mark Zuckerberg, boss of Facebook, by more than 46%, according to this report by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies Program for Inequality, which compiled Forbes data.
Since March 16, the beginning of the first containment measures in the United States, the value of the Facebook title has jumped by almost 60%, that of Amazon has increased by 45%, that of Netflix by 46%, that of Apple. 31%.
And that does not seem to stop since the Amazon and Facebook titles reached their historic high this week.
Conversely, billionaires in the travel, hotel or retail sector saw their fortunes melt during this same period, these sectors being directly affected by the drastic measures to stem the coronavirus.
© 2020 AFP