The three richest billionaires in the U.S., as measured by the annual Forbes 400 ranking, now own more wealth than the bottom half of the nation's population combined, according to the report by the Institute for Policy Studies, a research organization focused on inequality issues.
The fortunate three are Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and financier and investor Warren Buffett. Their $264.1 billion in holdings outstrips the combined net worth of an estimated 160 million people, or 53 million U.S. households, according to the report titled: Billionaire Bonanza 2017.
Expanding the comparison to all the billionaires who comprise the full Forbes 400 list, the report said the group collectively has more wealth than the bottom 64% of the U.S. population. The percentage represents roughly 80 million U.S. households, or 204 million people — more than the combined populations of Canada and Mexico.
