According to a report by Chuck Collins and Josh Hoxie, of the Institute for Policy Studies, three billionaires -- Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett -- own more wealth than the bottom half of the total U.S. population. “We’re really moving into a hyper-inequality phase, an advanced sort of plutocracy, wealth-creating-wealth dynamic,” said Collins. The report is titled “Billionaire Bonanza 2017.”