Nearly 100 New People Achieved Billionaire Status in the US During the Pandemic

Taiyler Simone Mitchell   Fri, October 29, 2021

Of the almost 500 new billionaires globally, nearly 100 of them are in the US.

This comes amid a devastating pandemic that plunged 3.3 million more people into poverty.

Lawmakers briefly proposed a billionaires' tax this week, but quickly ditched the effort.

While the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the globe and 37.2 million people in the US lived below the poverty line in 2020 - marking an increase of 3.3 million people from the year prior - 98 people in the US were added to the Forbes World's Billionaires list.

A total of 493 newcomers achieved billionaire status globally since the start of the pandemic, Insider reported in April. There are 724 US billionaires total (out of 2,755 billionaires globally), and their wealth amounts to $4.4 trillion - $2 trillion more than last year, according to Forbes.

New additions to the list include reality TV star Kim Kardashian, filmmaker Tyler Perry, pop star and entrepreneur Rihanna, Apple CEO Tim Cook, casino owner Miriam Adelson, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel.

The Biden administration found the top 400 wealthiest billionaires pay an estimated 8% in federal individual income taxes between 2010 and 2018, which is lower than the average working household.

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https://www.insider.com/100-us-newcomers-join-musk-bezos-zuckerberg-gates-as-billionaires-2021-10