Subject: Three billionaires are wealthier than half the US populatio

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See Original Content on OpEdNews in article titled "Documents show ties between university, conservative donors"

Three billionaires are wealthier than half the US population"And they want us to believe we live in a democracy."

"According to a report published Wednesday by the Institute for Policy Studies, the three richest Americans--Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett--now own more wealth than the poorest half of the US population, some 160 million. The IPS report explains that the US data "underestimate[s] our current levels of wealth concentration" because "the growing use of offshore tax havens and legal trusts has made the concealing of assets more widespread than ever before." A 2017 report published by Alstadsaeter, Johannesen, and Zucman titled "Who owns the wealth in tax havens?" estimates that the world's superrich have between $5.7 and $32 trillion hidden from taxation or statistical analysis."

"The Institute for Policy Studies report, "Billionaire Bonanza: The Forbes 400 and the rest of us," reveals that the richest 25 Americans are wealthier than the bottom 56 percent of the US. The net worth of the 400 richest is roughly equal to that of the bottom two thirds of the country, a total of 200 million people. According to the report's authors, the US has become "a hereditary aristocracy of wealth and power."

"The unprecedented concentration of wealth is an international phenomenon. Oxfam reported in June 2017 that the world's 5 richest people own as much as the poorest half of the world's population, down from 80 people in 2015. Today, each of the top 5 billionaires owns as much as 750 million people, more than the total population of Latin America and double the population of the US."

"While the superrich dominate the commanding heights, the bottom 90 percent face hardship and crisis that vary only in terms of immediacy.The IPS report measures the net worth of working class families by subtracting the value of durable goods like automobiles, household appliances and furniture. According to its estimate, over 19 percent of US households--roughly 60 million people--have "zero or negative net worth" when durable goods are subtracted."