Amazon's Bezos tops Forbes richest list, pandemic knocks Trump lower

[September 08, 2020] By Sheila Dang and Catherine Koppel

(Reuters) - Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos topped Forbes' list of richest Americans for the third year in a row, while U.S. President Donald Trump's ranking dropped as the coronavirus pandemic slammed his office buildings, hotels and resorts, the magazine said Tuesday.

The aggregate wealth of the Forbes 400 list rose to a record $3.2 trillion, as the richest Americans continued to do well even though the pandemic has devastated the economy and caused more than 1.8 million Americans to lose their jobs.

Eric Yuan, chief executive officer of Zoom Video Communications, which has become ubiquitous in the work-from-home era, was one of 18 newcomers on the list with a net worth of $11 billion.

Trump's ranking dropped to No. 352 from 275 last year as his net worth fell to $2.5 billion from $3.1 billion, as office buildings, hotels and resorts, have suffered during the pandemic. His business, the Trump Organization, owns property in all three categories.

Trump has long refused to release his tax records, and has been locked in a battle with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who subpoenaed Trump for eight years of personal and corporate returns.

The annual list can serve as a way to track the wealthiest people in the country who hold the most power, said Kerry Dolan, assistant managing editor of wealth at Forbes, in an interview with Reuters TV.

"As a society, we all should know who is behind the biggest companies and what they're doing with their money," she said.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang and Catherine Koppel; Editing by David Gregorio)

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