<p>The fortunes of US billionaires rose 15 percent in the two months since the coronavirus pandemic hit, a study found, with Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg seeing massive gains.</p>.<p>The more than 600 billionaires in the United States became even richer as tech stocks rose during virus lockdowns, an analysis of data by two think-tanks published Thursday said.</p>.<p>Between March 18 and May 19, their total net worth increased by $434 billion while the coronavirus pandemic caused job losses and economic agony for tens of millions of Americans.</p>.<p>Bezos' wealth grew over 30 percent to $147.6 billion, while Zuckerberg's fortune lept by more than 45 percent to $80 billion, according to the research by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies' Program for Inequality. The analysis was based on data from Forbes billionaires list.</p>.<p>Microsoft's Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett saw comparatively paltry gains of 8.2 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, according to the report.</p>.<p>Amazon and Facebook stocks have surged following new program announcements that pushed their businesses ahead at a time when many consumers are stuck at home.</p>.<p>Job losses in the US have passed 36.8 million since business shutdowns began in mid-March to stop the spread of the deadly new disease.</p>.<p>Other data have shown a collapse in housing sales and a decline in manufacturing, as officials debate what additional steps will be needed to rescue the beleaguered economy.</p>.<p>COVID-19 has killed at least 94,700 people in the US where more than 1.5 million infections have been confirmed, according to an AFP tally.</p>
<p>The fortunes of US billionaires rose 15 percent in the two months since the coronavirus pandemic hit, a study found, with Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg seeing massive gains.</p>.<p>The more than 600 billionaires in the United States became even richer as tech stocks rose during virus lockdowns, an analysis of data by two think-tanks published Thursday said.</p>.<p>Between March 18 and May 19, their total net worth increased by $434 billion while the coronavirus pandemic caused job losses and economic agony for tens of millions of Americans.</p>.<p>Bezos' wealth grew over 30 percent to $147.6 billion, while Zuckerberg's fortune lept by more than 45 percent to $80 billion, according to the research by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies' Program for Inequality. The analysis was based on data from Forbes billionaires list.</p>.<p>Microsoft's Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett saw comparatively paltry gains of 8.2 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, according to the report.</p>.<p>Amazon and Facebook stocks have surged following new program announcements that pushed their businesses ahead at a time when many consumers are stuck at home.</p>.<p>Job losses in the US have passed 36.8 million since business shutdowns began in mid-March to stop the spread of the deadly new disease.</p>.<p>Other data have shown a collapse in housing sales and a decline in manufacturing, as officials debate what additional steps will be needed to rescue the beleaguered economy.</p>.<p>COVID-19 has killed at least 94,700 people in the US where more than 1.5 million infections have been confirmed, according to an AFP tally.</p>