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Bernie Sanders Says Billionaires Are Getting Richer Under Trump — The Data Backs Him Up

MarketDash Editorial Team
5 days ago
Senator Bernie Sanders called out soaring billionaire wealth while many Americans struggle financially. Bank of America data reveals nearly a quarter of households live paycheck to paycheck as wage growth stalls and inflation persists, highlighting a widening economic divide.

Senator Bernie Sanders isn't holding back. On Tuesday, the Vermont independent took to X to blast the growing fortunes of America's tech billionaires while millions of working families struggle to make ends meet.

The Billionaire Boom

Sanders pointed specifically to Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle Corp (ORCL) CTO Larry Ellison, and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos. Each has seen their wealth skyrocket since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

"Meanwhile, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, food & housing costs soar and AI is killing jobs," Sanders wrote.

The numbers are staggering. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk is now worth $449 billion, Zuckerberg $229 billion, Ellison $259 billion and Bezos $256 billion. Ellison has added more than $66 billion to his fortune year to date alone, while Zuckerberg is up more than $21 billion.

That's not just wealth accumulation. That's wealth acceleration.

What the Bank Data Actually Shows

Sanders claimed 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, but Bank of America's November analysis paints a somewhat different picture. The actual figure is 24% — still a significant chunk of households, just not quite the majority Sanders suggested.

Here's how Bank of America defines it: households spending 95% or more of their income on basic necessities like housing, groceries, gas, child care and utilities. That leaves almost nothing for discretionary spending or savings.

The report analyzed spending patterns across tens of millions of Bank of America customers, and the findings support the broader thrust of Sanders' argument. We're living through what economists call a K-shaped economy — affluent Americans pulling ahead while lower- and middle-income households fall further behind.

Lower-income Americans are getting squeezed the hardest. Nearly 29% of households in this group now live paycheck to paycheck, up from 28.6% in 2024. Middle- and higher-income households have seen little change in comparison.

The Wage Growth Problem

Bank of America researchers trace the trend to slowing wage growth among lower-income workers. After substantial gains in 2021 and 2022, wages cooled in 2023 and 2024, then lagged even more this year.

Inflation hasn't helped. Prices climbed 3% year over year in September, but after-tax wages grew just 2% for middle-income workers and only 1% for lower-income earners in October. When your wages grow slower than prices, you're effectively getting poorer.

Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as the "godfather of AI," warned in September that artificial intelligence could deepen this inequality by replacing workers and funneling profits to the wealthy. Hinton argued the problem stems from capitalism rather than the technology itself — a point that would likely resonate with Sanders.

Whether you buy Sanders' exact numbers or not, the underlying story is hard to dispute. Billionaire wealth is surging while a meaningful portion of American households can barely keep their heads above water. The gap isn't just wide anymore. It's growing wider.

Back to News

Bernie Sanders Says Billionaires Are Getting Richer Under Trump — The Data Backs Him Up

MarketDash Editorial Team
5 days ago
Senator Bernie Sanders called out soaring billionaire wealth while many Americans struggle financially. Bank of America data reveals nearly a quarter of households live paycheck to paycheck as wage growth stalls and inflation persists, highlighting a widening economic divide.

Senator Bernie Sanders isn't holding back. On Tuesday, the Vermont independent took to X to blast the growing fortunes of America's tech billionaires while millions of working families struggle to make ends meet.

The Billionaire Boom

Sanders pointed specifically to Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle Corp (ORCL) CTO Larry Ellison, and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos. Each has seen their wealth skyrocket since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

"Meanwhile, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, food & housing costs soar and AI is killing jobs," Sanders wrote.

The numbers are staggering. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk is now worth $449 billion, Zuckerberg $229 billion, Ellison $259 billion and Bezos $256 billion. Ellison has added more than $66 billion to his fortune year to date alone, while Zuckerberg is up more than $21 billion.

That's not just wealth accumulation. That's wealth acceleration.

What the Bank Data Actually Shows

Sanders claimed 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, but Bank of America's November analysis paints a somewhat different picture. The actual figure is 24% — still a significant chunk of households, just not quite the majority Sanders suggested.

Here's how Bank of America defines it: households spending 95% or more of their income on basic necessities like housing, groceries, gas, child care and utilities. That leaves almost nothing for discretionary spending or savings.

The report analyzed spending patterns across tens of millions of Bank of America customers, and the findings support the broader thrust of Sanders' argument. We're living through what economists call a K-shaped economy — affluent Americans pulling ahead while lower- and middle-income households fall further behind.

Lower-income Americans are getting squeezed the hardest. Nearly 29% of households in this group now live paycheck to paycheck, up from 28.6% in 2024. Middle- and higher-income households have seen little change in comparison.

The Wage Growth Problem

Bank of America researchers trace the trend to slowing wage growth among lower-income workers. After substantial gains in 2021 and 2022, wages cooled in 2023 and 2024, then lagged even more this year.

Inflation hasn't helped. Prices climbed 3% year over year in September, but after-tax wages grew just 2% for middle-income workers and only 1% for lower-income earners in October. When your wages grow slower than prices, you're effectively getting poorer.

Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as the "godfather of AI," warned in September that artificial intelligence could deepen this inequality by replacing workers and funneling profits to the wealthy. Hinton argued the problem stems from capitalism rather than the technology itself — a point that would likely resonate with Sanders.

Whether you buy Sanders' exact numbers or not, the underlying story is hard to dispute. Billionaire wealth is surging while a meaningful portion of American households can barely keep their heads above water. The gap isn't just wide anymore. It's growing wider.