Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized the widening wealth gap amid the surge in the net worth of billionaires during President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
Things Are Going ‘Pretty Well’ For Trump’s Backers
“For the billionaires who sat behind Trump when he was inaugurated, things are going pretty well,” Sanders said on Wednesday, in a post on X.
He said this while pointing to the staggering gains among some of the richest and most high-profile billionaires in the country, since Trump's return to office early this year. Sanders’ list included Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, all of whom have added billions to their fortunes in recent months.
“Since Election Day,” Sanders said, “Elon Musk became $186 billion richer. Mark Zuckerberg became $47 billion richer,” and “Jeff Bezos became $10 billion richer.”
He concluded his post, highlighting the stark divide between Trump’s billionaire backers and the struggles of average Americans, by asking, “How are you doing?”
Soaring Stock Prices Drive Billionaire Wealth Surge
Musk and Zuckerberg have seen their personal fortunes swell this year, fueled by sharp rallies in their companies' stock prices.
It is unclear where Sanders obtained the figures to cite the billionaire’s wealth increase during the year, as they do not correspond with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. According to the index, Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos have seen their personal wealth increase by $29.7 billion, $51.0 billion and $5.4 billion year-to-date, respectively.
Trump’s Tax Cuts ‘Overwhelmingly Help The Rich’
This comes amid growing criticism of Trump’s regressive economic policies, such as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is expected to result in a 4% increase in the resources of households in the highest income decile by 2027, and a 2% decline for those at the lowest.
Economist Justin Wolfers refers to Trump’s policies as “pure reverse Robin Hood,” in the sense that they take from the poor to give to the rich.
Wolfers highlighted the tax cuts pursued by the administration, which he said “overwhelmingly help the rich,” alongside cuts to the welfare programs targeted at the poor, and the tariffs, which will cost poorer households a “larger share of their income.”
“Roll these three regressive policies together and you get the largest redistribution from poor to rich in American history,” he said.
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