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華爾街日報Bernie Sanders Slams 'Immoral and Unsustainable' Wealth Inequality, Calls To End Oligarchy Amid Soaring Billionaire Fortunes
Sen. Bernie Sanders has criticized the growing wealth disparity in the country, citing the staggering increase in the fortunes of a few billionaires.
His comments come as Elon Musk becomes the first person in history to amass a net worth of around $750 billion.
Sanders Slams Billionaire Wealth Surge
On Friday, Sanders took to X to voice his concerns about the increasing income and wealth gap in the U.S. He pointed out that while millions of Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities, the combined wealth of 10 billionaires surged by $730 billion in 2025.
The former presidential candidate wrote on X, “The great economic crisis of our time is growing income and wealth inequality. While millions of Americans struggle to pay rent, buy food, or afford health care, 10 billionaires got $730 billion richer in 2025.”
Citing Forbes data, he described the situation as "immoral and unsustainable," calling for action to combat oligarchy.
Musk's Net Worth Hits Historic Levels
Musk's net worth has skyrocketed by more than $333 billion in 2025, averaging a daily increase of about $935 million, according to Forbes, propelling him to the top of the global wealth rankings.
Forbes reported that the combined wealth of the world's more than 3,100 billionaires rose by $3.6 trillion in 2025 to $18.7 trillion. The 10 biggest gainers, including Musk, added more than $729 billion.
Notably, six of the ten billionaires on the list, including Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are American.
See Also: Biden Boom Vs. Trump Freeze: Paul Krugman Says We Traded Pro-Worker Recovery For K-Shaped Recession
Wealth Inequality Debate Intensifies
The issue of wealth inequality has been a hot topic in the U.S. for some time.
In 2025, billionaire lawyer John Morgan warned that the growing income gap could push the nation to a breaking point. However, his proposed solutions faced criticism.
Earlier in the year, finance influencer Vivian Tu predicted that the wealth disparity would worsen in 2025 due to the economic policies of President Donald Trump.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), asserted that the key to addressing inequality is to grow the economy for everyone, not just the top earners.
Consumer spending has also been significantly impacted by the growing wealth disparity. Lower-income households are feeling more and more excluded, while higher-income households are spending more and seeing faster wage growth.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.