Envy is one of the dread seven deadlies, and like decent folk everywhere I’m squarely against it. But I’m not sure envy is the right descriptive for the average schmoe’s steam-snorting, teeth-gnashing reaction to one of the more lopsided outcomes of our COVID-19 era.

In February Forbes magazine released its annual count of the world’s billionaires. Somehow, despite the economic turmoil experienced by just about everyone else in the world, there were a lot more of them. Forbes’ 35th annual list jumped to 2,755 people—660 more than when the COVID-19 crisis began. Also experiencing a great leap forward was their wealth—$13.1 trillion, up from $8 trillion just the year before. That is not a typo. The wealth of a few hundred of the world’s richest people increased by $5 trillion while the rest of the world waited for emergency handouts from the government and eviction notices from landlords.

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