The Insider | In early February, Elon Musk’s net worth topped the $800 billion mark, a new record for the richest man in history. Today, the combined fortunes of the dozen wealthiest Americans exceeds $2 trillion — four times more than the total in 2020. A similar trend is visible far beyond the United States. The assets of the extremely wealthy are growing several times faster than the combined savings of the poorer half of the world’s population. Modern extreme wealth is not only the result of talent or diligence on the part of certain people, but also a consequence of an economic system that produces closed and self-reproducing mechanisms for distributing capital. Effective policies to combat inequality have yet to be developed, as measures like antitrust and tax legislation cannot keep up with the power of the elite, which buys up media outlets and often determines the outcome of elections.

Source: The Insider.