How Much Money the Richest 20 Americans Have ‘Made’ During COVID-19

Here’s how the 3-comma club fared during the worst of times.

By Andrew Lisa Feb 24, 2021 Net Worth 101

As millions of families struggled and stressed out over expiring unemployment benefits and eviction moratoriums while the COVID-19 crisis raged, the richest of the rich did what they’ve always been so good at doing. They got richer — way, way richer. According to Statista, America’s billionaires padded their net worths by a combined $1 trillion between March and November last year. In all, the three-comma club went from owning $2.95 trillion in wealth at the start of the pandemic to $3.96 trillion as 2020 drew to a close.

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While no one is immune from the virus, enormous wealth and clout, it turns out, can go a long way to inoculating you from the economic fallout that came with it. Using data from Forbes, GOBankingRates listed the 20 wealthiest Americans in ascending order from least rich to richest and outlined how their finances fared through the gauntlet of 2020.

Last updated: Feb. 24, 2021

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Len Blavatnik

Age: 64
Overall wealth rank: 42
Source of wealth: Music, chemicals
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $17,000,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $31,700,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $14,700,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 86.47%

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Michael Dell

Age: 56
Overall wealth rank: 31
Source of wealth: Dell Computers
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $22,900,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $41,800,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $18,900,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 82.53%

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Daniel Gilbert

Age: 59
Overall wealth rank: 30
Source of wealth: Quicken Loans
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $6,500,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $42,300,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $35,800,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 550.77%

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Charles Koch

Age: 86
Overall wealth rank: 25
Source of wealth: Koch Industries
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $38,200,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $44,900,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $6,700,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 17.54%

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Julia Koch

Age: 59
Overall wealth rank: 25
Source of wealth: Koch Industries
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $38,200,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $44,900,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $6,700,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 17.54%

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Phil Knight

Age: 83
Overall wealth rank: 24
Source of wealth: Nike
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $29,500,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $53,000,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $23,500,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 79.66%

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Michael Bloomberg

Age: 79
Overall wealth rank: 23
Source of wealth: Bloomberg LP
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $48,000,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $54,900,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $6,900,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 14.38%

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MacKenzie Scott

Age: 51
Overall wealth rank: 22
Source of wealth: Amazon
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $36,000,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $58,300,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $22,300,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 61.94%

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Rob Walton

Age: 77
Overall wealth rank: 17
Source of wealth: Walmart
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $54,100,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $67,200,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $13,100,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 24.21%

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Jim Walton

Age: 73
Overall wealth rank: 16
Source of wealth: Walmart
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $54,600,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $67,500,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $12,900,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 23.63%

Alice Walton

Age: 72
Overall wealth rank: 15
Source of wealth: Walmart
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $54,400,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $67,700,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $13,300,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 24.45%

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Steve Ballmer

Age: 65
Overall wealth rank: 12
Source of wealth: Microsoft
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $52,700,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $75,900,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $23,200,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 44.02%

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Sergey Brin

Age: 48
Overall wealth rank: 11
Source of wealth: Google
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $49,100,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $80,200,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $31,100,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 63.34%

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Larry Page

Age: 48
Overall wealth rank: 9
Source of wealth: Google
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $50,900,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $82,600,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $31,700,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 62.28%

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Larry Ellison

Age: 77
Overall wealth rank: 8
Source of wealth: Software
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $59,000,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $86,500,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $27,500,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 46.61%

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Warren Buffett

Age: 91
Overall wealth rank: 7
Source of wealth: Berkshire Hathaway
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $67,500,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $89,100,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $21,600,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 32.00%

Mark Zuckerberg

Age: 37
Overall wealth rank: 5
Source of wealth: Facebook
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $54,700,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $99,800,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $45,100,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 82.45%

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Bill Gates

Age: 66
Overall wealth rank: 4
Source of wealth: Microsoft
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $98,000,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $121,600,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $23,600,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 24.08%

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Elon Musk

Age: 50
Overall wealth rank: 2
Source of wealth: Tesla/SpaceX
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $24,600,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $182,900,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $158,300,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 643.50%

Jeff Bezos

Age: 57
Overall wealth rank: 1
Source of wealth: Amazon
Net worth as of March 18, 2020: $113,000,000,000
Net worth as of Jan. 21, 2021: $192,300,000,000
Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: $79,300,000,000
% Change in net worth from March 18, 2020-Jan. 21, 2021: 70.18%

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Methodology: In order to find out how much the richest 20 Americans “made” during COVID, GOBankingRates first found the 20 richest Americans in terms of (1) net worth as of January 21, 2021, after trading had ended at 5 pm EST as sourced from Forbes’ “Real-Time Billionaire” tracker. GOBankingRates then found each of those 20 American’s (2) net worth as of 03/18/2020, as sourced from Forbes’ “2020 Billionaire List.” From there, GOBankingRates was able to calculate (3) the change in net worth (dollar amount) from March 18, 2020, to Jan. 21, 2021, and (4) the percent change in net worth from March 18, 2020, to Jan. 21, 2021, for each billionaire. GOBankingRates also found the (5) age; (6) overall wealth rank as of Jan. 21, 2021; and (7) source of wealth for all 20 richest Americans, all sourced from Forbes’ “Real-Time Billionaire” tracker. All data were collected on and up to date as of Jan. 21, 2021.

About the Author

Andrew Lisa

Andrew Lisa has been writing professionally since 2001. An award-winning writer, Andrew was formerly one of the youngest nationally distributed columnists for the largest newspaper syndicate in the country, the Gannett News Service. He worked as the business section editor for amNewYork, the most widely distributed newspaper in Manhattan, and worked as a copy editor for TheStreet.com, a financial publication in the heart of Wall Street's investment community in New York City.