Within the recently updated HEROES Act, which passed $2.2 trillion in aid to keep major community programs afloat, it also allocated millions in coronavirus aid to 50 of the nation’s richest communities. Auditors from OpenThe Books found the places listed in the Bloomberg 2020 Richest Places within the United States report received $350 million in bailouts.
In these wealthy communities, the average household income ranged from $262,988 to $525,324. Some of the top places to receive aid included:
- #1 Atherton, CA ($525,324 income/$3.8 million bailout)
- #16 Old Greenwich, CT ($321,377 income/ $5.9 million bailout)
- #18 Palm Beach, FL ($314,090 income/ $4.4 million bailout)
- #36 Wellesley, MA ($277,568 income/ $14.7 million bailout)
- #37 Malibu, CA ($275,675 income/ $6.3 million bailout)
- #46 Lake Forest, IL ($265,477 income/ $9.7 million bailout)
- #50 Darnestown, MD ($262,988)
While the provision of the bill was supported by democrats including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, many are questioning the “cash handouts for wealthy constituents.”
“It’s unclear why such wealthy neighborhoods need so much money to weather the storm,” Adam Andrzejewski of OpenTheBooks.com wrote. “Should American taxpayers from lower-income areas be subsidizing the lifestyles of the rich and famous? Pelosi and her fellow ‘progressives’ snuck millions of dollars in cash for some of the nation’s wealthiest zip codes into their emergency COVID-19 package.”
According to Forbes, the 10 richest places within the United States to receive coronavirus aid from the HEROES Act include:
1. Atherton, CA – Income: $525,324 / Bailout: $3.8 million
One of the most affluent communities in Silicon Valley, Atherton has an
average home price of $7.5 million. Celebrities like NBA star Stephen
Curry and WhatsApp founder Jan Koum both live there in multimillion
dollar homes.
2. Scarsdale, NY – Income: $452,041 / Bailout: $8.8 million
Located 35 minutes out of New York City, Scarsdale is considered one of the richest areas on the East Coast with stars like Jay-Z and Beyoncé living there. Homes cost around $1.2 million on average.
3. Hillsborough, CA – Income: $430, 681 / Bailout: $5.7 million
Known to be one of the most affluent areas in California, homes in this area have a median prices of around $5.4 million. Some well-known celebrities that own homes here are Jenny Craig, Jimmy Kimmel and SpaceX’s Elon Musk.
4. Cherry Hills Village, CO – Income: $406,314 / Bailout: $3.3 million
Just 10 miles out of Denver, the average home price in Cherry Hills sits at around $2 million. While Condoleezza Rice and Madeline Albright both graduated from some of the more exclusive private schools in the area, NFL stars John Elway and Peyton Manning also own homes there.
5. Los Altos Hills, CA – Income: $405,073 / Bailout: $4.2 million
Los Altos Hills is another notable Silicon Valley area with homes costing around $3 million on average. Google founder Sergey Brin lives there, as well as another tech capitalist, Israeli billionaire Yuri Milner who owns a $100 million dollar home in the area.
6. Short Hills, NJ – Income: $388,760 / Bailout: $6.5 million
Known as a suburb of New York City suburb, Short Hills is another opulent area to live and own property. This areas has quite a number of actors, authors, CEOs and pro sports players living here too.
7. Highland Park, TX – Income: $365,025 / Bailout: $4.5 million
Five miles away from Dallas, Highland Park is yet another rich town with homes averaging $1.5 million. Former Texas Governor Bill Clements and Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones both live here.
8. Glencoe, IL – Income: $358,543 / Bailout: $4.4 million
Just north of Chicago, Glencoe is actually the richest town in Illinois with Groupon founder Eric Lefkofsky and author Scott Turow both living in the area. Home prices can reach anywhere between $500K to $1.52 million.
9. Winnetka, IL – Income: $353,700 / Bailout: $6.1 million
Just on the border of Glencoe, Winnetka is actually where a number of notable 80s films were made like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Home Alone, Risky Business, National Lampoon Christmas, and Breakfast Club. Homes have a median price of around $1.4 million.
10. Darien, CT – Income: $352,839 / Bailout: $10.7 million
This East Coast town is home to quite a big number of CEOs, politician and actors, and even has nine country clubs to its name. This posh town has a $1.3 average price for their houses.
“There is no such thing as a just and fair method of exercising the tremendous power that interventionism puts into the hands of the legislature and the executive,” Ludwig von Mises, Austrian economist, wrote. “In many fields of the administration of interventionist measures, favoritism simply cannot be avoided.”
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