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Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, millionaires are the new billionaires. The United States gained 56 new billionaires bringing the total to 659 (source: Institute for Policy Studies). The wealth held by a small bloc of Americans (10% households; approximately 70% net worth) increased by more than $1 trillion.

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The coronavirus windfall extends beyond the world’s 10 10 richest billionaires — Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, LVMH luxury group’s CEO Bernard Arnault, etc. Collectively their wealth grew by an estimated $540 billion over this period.

Noticeably the stock market’s upswing thanks to government policy (e.g., Federal Reserve’s commitment to zero interest rates), benefited the wealthiest 10 percent of households. They own 88 percent of all stocks, thus capitalized on the 18 percent increase in the S&P 500’s total return during 2020.

Many on-paper gains during attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic may prove transitory. At last count, approximately 650 billionaires in America saw their net worth increase by more than $1 trillion (note: they’re now worth more than $4 trillion) Bottomline: we probably will not know the complete impact on wealth and income distribution for a few years as a result of a new breed of investors, yield-hungry wealthy people buying shares of collectibles in lieu of bonds or shares in private equity funds They are buying fractional shares in collective assets like designer fashions (e.g., signature Hermes tote bags), exotic cars, memorabilia, race horses, etc. These collectable shares are traded until the owner of the market place sells the asset.

What impact did the pandemic have on collectible assets? Potential investors took advantage of spending more time at home, thus more time online researching information available via apps (e.g., Rally Rd.) catering to shares of collectable assets: taking equity in an object that you might not own outright, but might still prove to give you good dividends. What confuses me is how investors can place value to their investment assets or is it all about the bragging rights? Example: What is the true share value of Air Jordan 1s from designer Melody Ehsani sitting in the closet of a member of the Rally Rd, community.