As the federal government remains shut down, America’s billionaires have hit a new milestone: they now control over $8 trillion in collective wealth.
According to a new report released by Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF), the total wealth held by U.S. billionaires has jumped by more than $5 trillion, a 176.1% increase, since December 2017, the year President Donald Trump signed off on major tax cuts favoring the wealthy.
Top 15 Now Richer Than All Billionaires in 2017
In late 2017, the U.S. had 551 billionaires holding a total of $2.9 trillion. Fast forward nearly eight years, and that number has grown to 916 billionaires with a combined net worth of $8 trillion.
The increase of $5.1 trillion in billionaire wealth comes at a time when many Americans are facing rising living costs, public service cutbacks, and a government shutdown.
What stands out even more is that the top 15 richest individuals in America today have more wealth than all billionaires combined had in 2017.
This surge is tied closely to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which slashed corporate taxes and cut rates for high earners.
Republicans voted to extend that law permanently this past summer, partially paying for it by cutting healthcare and nutrition assistance.
At the same time, President Trump and congressional Republicans are pushing to let the Affordable Care Act’s Premium Tax Credits expire, potentially raising healthcare costs for millions.
Wealth Gained During Shutdown
The ATF report noted that billionaire wealth has grown by $1.2 trillion just since Trump was sworn in for his second term.
That growth continues even as the federal government remains closed, with federal employees missing paychecks and families being denied access to essential services.
David Kass, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, called out the contrast.
“Even as the billionaire-backed GOP keeps the government shut down—with civil servants furloughed and working without pay, and federal services from aviation safety to Social Security services suffering—billionaires somehow continue to get even richer at unprecedented levels,” Kass said in the release.
“We have a rigged system where billionaires get richer while families feel the crunch of high costs and growing economic uncertainty. President Trump and the GOP need to reopen the government, and Congress needs to seriously address the issue of concentrated billionaire wealth, starting with adoption of the Billionaires Income Tax,” he added.
Who’s Gained the Most
The top individual on the list is Elon Musk, whose wealth has grown from $20.4 billion in 2017 to $490.6 billion in 2025, a staggering increase of 2,305%. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang saw his net worth grow from $4.9 billion to $165.8 billion, a 3,283% increase.
Other notable names include:
- Larry Ellison: Up 461.5%, from $60.5 billion to $339.7 billion
- Mark Zuckerberg: Up 259.7%, from $71.5 billion to $257.2 billion
- Jeff Bezos: Up 188.8%, from $82.9 billion to $239.4 billion
In total, the top 20 billionaires now hold $3.3 trillion.
That’s nearly 41% of all billionaire wealth in the U.S., and up 286.6% from $854.9 billion in 2017. The remaining 896 billionaires own a combined $4.7 trillion, up 133% from $2 trillion eight years ago.
Context: Record Wealth During a Shutdown
The timing of this report is critical. As federal agencies remain shuttered, thousands of workers are missing paychecks, and core services have slowed or stopped. Meanwhile, the wealth of the richest Americans continues to grow.
ATF argues this is a result of policies that favor the ultra-wealthy. The group is pushing for new legislation to tax billionaires on unrealized capital gains, something that has long been proposed by progressives but met with stiff resistance from Republicans and many centrist Democrats.
A full breakdown of billionaire wealth is available in ATF’s report, which includes details on wealth increases for the top individuals and comparisons to their 2017 net worth.
The message is hard to ignore: while average Americans are struggling with inflation, stalled services, and rising healthcare costs, the richest have never had it better.
The Political Stakes
The report also comes as President Trump and congressional Republicans continue to use the government shutdown to try to force through the expiration of ACA subsidies.
This tactic, combined with cuts to social programs that were used to pay for tax breaks, has drawn sharp criticism from tax policy watchdogs and progressive groups.
For now, the numbers tell the story. Since the 2017 tax cuts, billionaire wealth has surged by $5.1 trillion, and just 20 people now control more wealth than the entire billionaire class did less than a decade ago.
ATF is using this moment to push for systemic change, including passage of a Billionaires Income Tax, as a way to rebalance what they call a rigged system and redirect public money back into services that benefit working families.
At some point, we have to ask how much more concentrated wealth this country can afford before it starts unraveling.
Trillions have gone to the richest Americans while basic public services are underfunded and workers go without pay.
That kind of imbalance isn’t just unsustainable, it’s dangerous.