Statements by journalists like this and actions like Bernie Sander's Make Billionaires Pay Act shows that either 1) a number of people have no understanding of how asset prices work or 2) they understand the underlying economics, and would rather stir up anger to implement their agenda than be honest.

An example I've been giving to people who are making the argument about billionaires making money during the pandemic is: Imagine you own a modest $300,000 house. A city inspector comes by and finds that your property is located on an old toxic waste spill and condemns it so that it is now worthless. A week later, the city finds that they've made an error, and there is no toxic waste, so now your house goes back to being worth $300,000. A month after that, you get a tax bill in your mailbox for $100,000, 30% of your $300,000 asset gain.