Musk's Wealth Up by $186.1 Billion
Average U.S. Worker Earns $50,000 a Year... CNN: "Inequality"
Oxfam on Trump Tax Bill: "A Law to Create the First Trillionaire"
The top 10 billionaires in the United States increased their combined wealth by a total of $365 billion (approximately 503 trillion won) over the past year, averaging $1 billion per day. If the large-scale tax cut bill being promoted by the Republican Party passes Congress, their wealth is expected to grow at an even faster pace. There are even predictions that this bill could create the world's first trillionaire.
On May 21 (local time), CNN reported this information, citing a report from the international relief and development organization Oxfam.
Oxfam measured the change in assets of the top 10 billionaires from the end of April 2024 to the end of April 2025, based on Forbes' real-time billionaire list. Elon Musk, the world's richest person and CEO, saw his assets increase by $186.1 billion during this period, accounting for more than half of the total increase. Analysts also noted that he is highly likely to become the world's first "trillionaire" (an individual with assets exceeding $1 trillion) in the near future.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, and Rob Walton, Walmart heir, each increased their assets by $38.7 billion. Warren Buffett's assets grew by $34.8 billion, and Jim Walton's by $36.5 billion. In contrast, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin saw their assets decrease slightly.
In stark contrast, as of 2023, the average annual income of American workers was only about $50,000. Oxfam pointed out that it would take 726,000 years for 10 ordinary American workers to earn what the top 10 richest Americans made in just 12 months.
CNN assessed, "These findings are clear evidence of the country's wealth inequality."
The so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" being promoted by the Republican Party is raising concerns that it will exacerbate this issue of wealth inequality. The bill, which includes tax cuts and increased border security funding, is expected to provide enormous benefits to the wealthy while simultaneously cutting about $1 trillion from major social safety net budgets.
According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) analysis from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the top 10% of households would receive about 65% of the total benefits. In contrast, the bottom 20% by income are expected to lose about $1,035 per household starting in 2026 due to cuts in social welfare programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.
Oxfam criticized the bill, stating, "It further entrenches structures that favor the wealthy," and pointed out, "This tax system is being designed to create the world's first trillionaire."
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