Skip to content
March 02, 2020

Billionaires: A Visual Explainer

An illustrated look at a system allowing billionaire wealth to balloon, all at the expense of everything else we care about.

By Sarah Gertler, Chuck Collins

Shutterstock
Share:

When I wrote recently in CNN Business that there should be fewer billionaires in the United States, it was nothing personal. The problem, as I wrote, isn’t a few individuals making money. It’s the whole system that allows their wealth to balloon, all at the expense of everything else we care about – including our democracy.

My colleague Sarah Gertler illustrated – literally – how this system works for us! Take a look and read the full article to learn more about the corrosive impact of billionaire wealth on our democracy.

Originally in Inequality.org.

Sarah Gertler is the Newman Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, where she works on graphic design, social media, and communications. Chuck Collins is the Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org.

For press inquiries, contact IPS Deputy Communications Director Olivia Alperstein at olivia@ips-dc.org. For recent press statements, visit our Press page.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Further reading

Articles | Sep 30, 2026

Foreign Policy Crisis Points Awaiting the Next Generation of Progressive Lawmakers

The next Congress may see a record crop of progressive lawmakers. Here are some of the global issues they’ll need to confront.
Articles | Sep 30, 2026

VIDEO: The Long Blowback of U.S. Support for Pinochet's Chile

Sarah Anderson tells the Windham World Affairs Council about Pinochet's coup and the long fight for justice for our murdered colleagues.
Articles, Resources | Sep 29, 2026

FACT SHEET: Trump’s Proposed $1.5 Trillion War Budget in Three Charts 

Trump's Pentagon hike would send war spending to nearly 70 percent of discretionary funds. Most would benefit weapons contractors.
See all Articles

Our project sites