“Billionaires are raking in staggering profits off the backs of ordinary workers,” said Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies.
Elon Musk looks on as US President Donald Trump speaks at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, DC on November 19, 2025.
(Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Jake Johnson
Jan 02, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
The collective wealth of US billionaires surged to $8.1 trillion in 2025 as working-class Americans faced a cost-of-living crisis made worse by President Donald Trump’s tariff regime and unprecedented assault on the social safety net.
An analysis released Friday by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) found that the top 15 US billionaires saw the largest wealth gains last year, with their collective fortune growing from $2.4 trillion to $3.2 trillion. That 33% gain was more than double the S&P 500’s 16% increase in 2025.
500 Richest People Gained Record $2.2 Trillion in 2025, Fueling Calls for Wealth Tax
Richest 0.001% Now Own Three Times More Wealth Than Poorest Half of Humanity Combined
What IPS describes as the “elite group” of US billionaires includes Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the richest man in the world; Google co-founder Larry Page; Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; and Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison.
IPS emphasized that “these staggering combined billionaire wealth totals come as the Trump-GOP budget bill passed in 2025 defunded health insurance, food stamps, and other vital anti-poverty safety net programs, in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and budget increases for militarism and mass deportations.”
“The affordability crisis is hitting ordinary Americans particularly hard as we head into the new year, but not everyone is feeling the pain: Billionaires are raking in staggering profits off the backs of ordinary workers,” Chuck Collins, director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at IPS, said in a statement.
“These extreme concentrations of wealth and power,” Collins added, “undermine our daily lives and further rig our economy in favor of the ultra-rich and corporations, while ordinary Americans get a raw deal once again.”
IPS released its analysis days after Bloomberg reported, based on its Billionaires Index, that the world’s 500 richest people gained a record $2.2 trillion in wealth last year.
Omar Ocampo, an IPS researcher, said that in the US, billionaires are “paying far less in taxes compared to the huge amount of wealth they amass,” allowing them to continue accumulating vast fortunes, supercharging inequality, and using their wealth and influence to subvert reform efforts.
“Not only are a small number of Americans holding more wealth than the rest of America, but they’re also not paying their fair share in taxes,” said Ocampo.
The new report comes as families across the US struggle to make ends meet amid high and still-rising prices for groceries, housing, and other necessities. A Century Foundation survey released last month found that “roughly three in 10 voters delayed or skipped medical care in the past year due to cost, while nearly two-thirds switched to cheaper groceries or bought less food altogether.”
The collective wealth of US billionaires surged to $8.1 trillion in 2025 as working-class Americans faced a cost-of-living crisis made worse by President Donald Trump’s tariff regime and unprecedented assault on the social safety net.
An analysis released Friday by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) found that the top 15 US billionaires saw the largest wealth gains last year, with their collective fortune growing from $2.4 trillion to $3.2 trillion. That 33% gain was more than double the S&P 500’s 16% increase in 2025.
500 Richest People Gained Record $2.2 Trillion in 2025, Fueling Calls for Wealth Tax
Richest 0.001% Now Own Three Times More Wealth Than Poorest Half of Humanity Combined
What IPS describes as the “elite group” of US billionaires includes Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the richest man in the world; Google co-founder Larry Page; Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; and Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison.
IPS emphasized that “these staggering combined billionaire wealth totals come as the Trump-GOP budget bill passed in 2025 defunded health insurance, food stamps, and other vital anti-poverty safety net programs, in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and budget increases for militarism and mass deportations.”
“The affordability crisis is hitting ordinary Americans particularly hard as we head into the new year, but not everyone is feeling the pain: Billionaires are raking in staggering profits off the backs of ordinary workers,” Chuck Collins, director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at IPS, said in a statement.
“These extreme concentrations of wealth and power,” Collins added, “undermine our daily lives and further rig our economy in favor of the ultra-rich and corporations, while ordinary Americans get a raw deal once again.”
IPS released its analysis days after Bloomberg reported, based on its Billionaires Index, that the world’s 500 richest people gained a record $2.2 trillion in wealth last year.
Omar Ocampo, an IPS researcher, said that in the US, billionaires are “paying far less in taxes compared to the huge amount of wealth they amass,” allowing them to continue accumulating vast fortunes, supercharging inequality, and using their wealth and influence to subvert reform efforts.
“Not only are a small number of Americans holding more wealth than the rest of America, but they’re also not paying their fair share in taxes,” said Ocampo.
The new report comes as families across the US struggle to make ends meet amid high and still-rising prices for groceries, housing, and other necessities. A Century Foundation survey released last month found that “roughly three in 10 voters delayed or skipped medical care in the past year due to cost, while nearly two-thirds switched to cheaper groceries or bought less food altogether.”
The First Year of Trump’s Second Term Was Terrific—for US Billionaires
Over 2025, the combined wealth of all US billionaires climbed to $8.1 trillion, a 21% increase over 2025, up from $6.7 trillion exactly a year ago.
Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk attend the inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the US Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson - Pool/Getty Images)
Chuck Collins
Jan 02, 2026
Over 2025, the combined wealth of all US billionaires climbed to $8.1 trillion, a 21% increase over 2025, up from $6.7 trillion exactly a year ago.
Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk attend the inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the US Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson - Pool/Getty Images)
Chuck Collins
Jan 02, 2026
Common Dreams
The first year of the Trump administration was a very happy new year for the US billionaire class. The richest 15 billionaires, all with assets more than $100 billion, saw their combined wealth surge 33%, from $2.4 trillion to $3.2 trillion. This is double the growth of the S&P 500 over 2025, which was 16.4%.
Over 2025, the combined wealth of all US billionaires climbed to $8.1 trillion, a 21% increase over 2025, up from $6.7 trillion exactly a year ago.
Based on an Institute for Policy Studies analysis of data from the Forbes real time billionaire list from 2025, there are 935 billionaires in the United States with combined wealth totaling $8.1 trillion at the close of 2025 markets. This is an increase from 813 US billionaires at end close of 2024 markets, with combined wealth of $6.7 trillion.
The richest three American wealth dynasties—the Waltons, Mars, and Koch families—saw their wealth accelerate from $657.8 billion to $757 billion in one year.
Many top billionaires have seen their wealth surge during and after the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020.
[Note: Bloomberg reported global billionaire wealth increased $2.2 trillion over 2025, in an analysis released several days before the market closed at 4:00 p.m. on December 31, 2025. The market fluctuated considerably in the final days of 2025.]
The top five current billionaires and their individual wealth on January 1, 2026, compared to January 1, 2025:Elon Musk of Tesla/X and SpaceX with $726 billion, up from $421 trillion a year ago.
Larry Page of Google, with $257 billion, up from $156 billion a year ago.
Larry Ellison of Oracle fame with $245.billion, up from $209 billion a year ago.
Jeff Bezos of Amazon with $242.billion, up from $233.5 billion a year ago.
Sergey Brin of Google with $237 billion, up from $148.9 billion a year ago.
The three wealthiest dynastic families in the US hold an estimated $757 billion, up from $657.8 billion at the end of 2024, a 16% gain. These are:Walton. Seven members of the Walton Family with combined wealth of $483 billion, up from $404.3 billion a year ago.
Mars. Six members of Mars family with combined wealth of $120 billion, down from $130.4 billion a year ago.
Koch. Two members of Koch family have a combined wealth of $154.8 billion, up from $121.1 billion a year ago.
Wealth Gains Since Beginning of Pandemic
Many top billionaires have seen their wealth surge during and after the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020.
On March 18, 2020, Elon Musk had wealth valued just under $25 billion. Less than five years later, at the end of 2025, Musk’s wealth is $726 billion, a dizzying 2,800% increase from before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jeff Bezos saw his wealth rise from $113 billion on March 18, 2020 to $242 billion at the end of 2025.
Three Walton family members—Jim, Alice, and Rob, saw their combined assets increase from $161.1 billion on March 18, 2020 to $378 billion at the end of 2025.
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Chuck Collins
Chuck Collins is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org. His newest book is Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power is Ruining Our Lives and Planet (The New Press). His near future novel "Altar to An Erupting Sun” explores one community’s response to climate disruption. He is author of numerous books and reports on inequality and the racial wealth divide, including “The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Spend Millions to Hide Trillions,” “Born on Third Base,” and, with Bill Gates Sr., of “Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why American Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes.” See more of his writing at www.chuckcollinswrites.com.
Full Bio >
The first year of the Trump administration was a very happy new year for the US billionaire class. The richest 15 billionaires, all with assets more than $100 billion, saw their combined wealth surge 33%, from $2.4 trillion to $3.2 trillion. This is double the growth of the S&P 500 over 2025, which was 16.4%.
Over 2025, the combined wealth of all US billionaires climbed to $8.1 trillion, a 21% increase over 2025, up from $6.7 trillion exactly a year ago.
Based on an Institute for Policy Studies analysis of data from the Forbes real time billionaire list from 2025, there are 935 billionaires in the United States with combined wealth totaling $8.1 trillion at the close of 2025 markets. This is an increase from 813 US billionaires at end close of 2024 markets, with combined wealth of $6.7 trillion.
The richest three American wealth dynasties—the Waltons, Mars, and Koch families—saw their wealth accelerate from $657.8 billion to $757 billion in one year.
Many top billionaires have seen their wealth surge during and after the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020.
[Note: Bloomberg reported global billionaire wealth increased $2.2 trillion over 2025, in an analysis released several days before the market closed at 4:00 p.m. on December 31, 2025. The market fluctuated considerably in the final days of 2025.]
The top five current billionaires and their individual wealth on January 1, 2026, compared to January 1, 2025:Elon Musk of Tesla/X and SpaceX with $726 billion, up from $421 trillion a year ago.
Larry Page of Google, with $257 billion, up from $156 billion a year ago.
Larry Ellison of Oracle fame with $245.billion, up from $209 billion a year ago.
Jeff Bezos of Amazon with $242.billion, up from $233.5 billion a year ago.
Sergey Brin of Google with $237 billion, up from $148.9 billion a year ago.
The three wealthiest dynastic families in the US hold an estimated $757 billion, up from $657.8 billion at the end of 2024, a 16% gain. These are:Walton. Seven members of the Walton Family with combined wealth of $483 billion, up from $404.3 billion a year ago.
Mars. Six members of Mars family with combined wealth of $120 billion, down from $130.4 billion a year ago.
Koch. Two members of Koch family have a combined wealth of $154.8 billion, up from $121.1 billion a year ago.
Wealth Gains Since Beginning of Pandemic
Many top billionaires have seen their wealth surge during and after the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020.
On March 18, 2020, Elon Musk had wealth valued just under $25 billion. Less than five years later, at the end of 2025, Musk’s wealth is $726 billion, a dizzying 2,800% increase from before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jeff Bezos saw his wealth rise from $113 billion on March 18, 2020 to $242 billion at the end of 2025.
Three Walton family members—Jim, Alice, and Rob, saw their combined assets increase from $161.1 billion on March 18, 2020 to $378 billion at the end of 2025.
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Chuck Collins
Chuck Collins is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org. His newest book is Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power is Ruining Our Lives and Planet (The New Press). His near future novel "Altar to An Erupting Sun” explores one community’s response to climate disruption. He is author of numerous books and reports on inequality and the racial wealth divide, including “The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Spend Millions to Hide Trillions,” “Born on Third Base,” and, with Bill Gates Sr., of “Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why American Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes.” See more of his writing at www.chuckcollinswrites.com.
Full Bio >
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