Billionaires made $1tn since Covid-19. They can afford to protect their workers | Chuck Collins and Omar Ocampo

In a holiday shopping season with rampant rates of Covid-19 infection, we must protect frontline workers before it's too late

There are few scenes more sordid than the surging wealth gains of the world's billionaire class during an unprecedented pandemic when millions have lost their lives, health, and livelihoods.

As the US heads into another wave of Covid-19 infections, the wealth of 650 American billionaires has increased by over $1tn since mid-March, the beginning of the pandemic lockdowns.

The contrast between billionaires making no sacrifice and their workers making the ultimate sacrifice is unethical and corrupt

Related: Amazon workers are fighting for their rights. This holiday season, think of them | David Adler and James Schneider

Chuck Collins directs the program on inequality at the Institute for Policy Studies, where Omar Ocampo is an inequality researcher. They are co-authors of the report Billionaire Wealth vs Community Health: Protecting Essential Workers from Pandemic Profiteers, which was produced by Bargaining for the Common Good, the Institute for Policy Studies, and United for Respect