AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis/REUTERS/Andreas Gebert
Many billionaires were hit hard when the coronavirus tanked markets in late February and the first half of March. However, their fortunes rebounded with the stock market in recent weeks, despite a historic surge in unemployment.
The combined wealth of a selection of US billionaires surged by $565 billion, an increase of almost 20% since the start of the pandemic, according to a report by the Institute for Policy Studies.
Chuck Collins, who co-authored the Billionaire Bonanza 2020 report, said: “In a turbulent week in the life of the nation, these statistics remind us that we are more economically and racially divided than at any time in decades.”
Collins added: “Our moral, economic and physical health as a society depends on building a post-pandemic economy that works for everyone, not just the billionaire class. Surging billionaire wealth juxtaposed with the suffering and plight of millions undermines the social solidarity required for us to recover together in the years ahead.”
Here are the increases in 11 US billionaires’ wealth between March 18 and June 4, based on figures from the Institute for Policy Studies and net-worth estimates from Forbes.

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon
AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis
Increase: $36.2 billion
Total wealth: $149 billion

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook
Charles Platiau/Reuters
Increase: $30.1 billion
Total wealth: $84.8 billion

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
Joe Rogan Experience
Increase: $14.1 billion
Total wealth: $38.7 billion

Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma
Increase: $13.9 billion
Total wealth: $63.0 billion

Larry Page, co-founder of Google
Reuters
Increase: $13.7 billion
Total wealth: $64.6 billion

Steve Ballmer, owner of the LA Clippers and former CEO of Microsoft
Mark Blinch/Reuters
Increase: $13.3 billion
Total wealth: $66.0 billion

MacKenzie Bezos, author and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Increase: $12.6 billion
Total wealth: $48.6 billion

Michael Bloomberg, majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg
AP
Increase: $12.1 billion
Total wealth: $60.1 billion

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft
REUTERS/Jason Lee
Increase: $11.8 billion
Total Wealth: $110 billion

Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman of Nike
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Increase: $11.6 billion
Total wealth: $41.1 billion

Larry Ellison, co-founder, executive chairman and CTO of Oracle
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Increase: $8.5 billion
Total wealth: $67.5 billion

Getty Images / Carl Court
The beginning of a new bull market means big opportunities among small companies, according to Julian Emanuel of BTIG. 
He’s looking for the most dramatic of those opportunities, examining companies that went public in the last 11 years, are trading below their IPO prices, and have dropped 50% from a recent high.
He says the companies are also potential buyout targets based on their histories with private equity or venture capital backers. 
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The worst-case scenario for a company that’s going public might look something like this: Setbacks, disappointments, losses, and then a global economic catastrophe.
But there’s always hope their luck will change. Julian Emanuel — the chief equity and derivatives strategist at BTIG — is looking for some of the most appealing turnaround stories, and he thinks those serial underperformers are a good place to start.
Small companies like these get hit hard when the market tumbles, but they tend to outperform as a new bull market begins. And Emanuel is looking at some of the worst-performing small-company stocks that have gone public since 2009.  

But that’s not the only thing working in their favor. He’s zeroing in on companies that have a history with private equity or venture capital backers who could look to take advantage by acquiring the company. That would turn around some of that historic poor performance in a hurry.
In a note to clients, Emanuel points out that those private equity firms might be more willing to make a deal with these companies because they’re still run by their founders, or by the same CEO who was in charge at the time of the company’s IPO.
To narrow his targets further, he’s looking for companies that still have positive shareholder equity, or enough assets to cover their debts. 
Bringing together all of those factors, Emanuel says he’s found a group of struggling stocks present real opportunities as the market heals or as potential buyers swoop in. He’s come up with 25 founder- or veteran-CEO-run companies all valued at $2 billion or less that have fallen since their IPOs and are down 50% from their latest highs.
The companies are ranked from lowest to highest based on how much their stock prices have fallen from those highs. All of those values are calculated based on their closing prices on May 9.

25. MeiraGTx Holdings
Markets Insider
Ticker: MGTX
Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -4.5%
Since all-time high: -52.6%

Source: BTIG
24. Athenex
Markets Insider
Ticker: ATNX
Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -9.9%

Since all-time high: -52.6%
Source: BTIG
23. The RealReal
Markets Insider
Ticker: REAL
Sector: Consumer discretionary

Since IPO: -30.4%
Since all-time high: -53.7%
Source: BTIG
22. Sonos
Markets Insider
Ticker: SONO

Sector: Consumer discretionary
Since IPO: -30.1%
Since all-time high: -55.6%
Source: BTIG
21. Warrior Met Coal
Markets Insider

Ticker: HCC
Sector: Materials
Since IPO: -23.2%
Since all-time high: -56.7%
Source: BTIG

20. Kala Pharmaceuticals
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Ticker: KALA
Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -24.7%
Since all-time high: -57.8%

Source: BTIG
19. QuinStreet
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Ticker: QNST
Sector: Communication services
Since IPO: -29.9%

Since all-time high: -57.8%
Source: BTIG
18. Elf Beauty
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Ticker: ELF
Sector: Consumer staples

Since IPO: -20.7%
Since all-time high: -58.6%
Source: BTIG
17. Mersana Therapeutics
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Ticker: MRSN

Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -34.6%
Since all-time high: -59.1%
Source: BTIG
16. Homology Medicines
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Ticker: FIXX
Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -20.7%
Since all-time high: -60.1%
Source: BTIG

15. AC Immune
Markets Insider
Ticker: ACIU
Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -29.6%
Since all-time high: -61.2%

Source: BTIG
14. Akebia Therapeutics
Markets Insider
Ticker: AKBA
Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -29.5%

Since all-time high: -61.4%
Source: BTIG
13. Kadmon Holdings
Markets Insider
Ticker: KDMN
Sector: Healthcare

Since IPO: -63.5%
Since all-time high: -62.7%
Source: BTIG
12. Zuora
Markets Insider
Ticker: ZUO

Sector: Information technology
Since IPO: -19.6%
Since all-time high: -70.2%
Source: BTIG
11. Revolve Group
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Ticker: RVLV
Sector: Consumer discretionary
Since IPO: -27.6%
Since all-time high: -73.1%
Source: BTIG

10. Avrobio
Markets Insider
Ticker: AVRO
Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -24.4%
Since all-time high: -73.2%

Source: BTIG
9. Evolent Health
Markets Insider
Ticker: EVH
Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -58.4%

Since all-time high: -73.6%
Source: BTIG
8. Eventbrite
Markets Insider
Ticker: EB
Sector: Communication services

Since IPO: -55.3%
Since all-time high: -74.5%
Source: BTIG
7. Ardelyx
Markets Insider
Ticker: ARDX

Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -47.3%
Since all-time high: -79.2%
Source: BTIG
6. G1 Therapeutics
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Ticker: GTHX
Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -4.2%
Since all-time high: -79.3%
Source: BTIG

5. Liberty Oilfield Services
Markets Insider
Ticker: LBRT
Sector: Energy
Since IPO: -72.3%
Since all-time high: -80.3%

Source: BTIG
4. Rubius Therapeutics
Markets Insider
Ticker: RUBY
Sector: Healthcare
Since IPO: -73.0%

Since all-time high: -81.2%
Source: BTIG
3. Quotient Technology
Markets Insider
Ticker: QUOT
Sector: Consumer discretionary

Since IPO: -61.9%
Since all-time high: -81.5%
Source: BTIG
2. Fitbit
Markets Insider
Ticker: FIT

Sector: Information technology
Since IPO: -66.6%
Since all-time high: -87.1%
Source: BTIG
1. GoPro
Markets Insider

Ticker: GPRO
Sector: Consumer discretionary
Since IPO: -85.6%
Since all-time high: -96.5%
Source: BTIG