- Wealthy people are flying to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to shelter in their vacation homes, Justin Farrell reported for The New York Times.
- Some are even bringing their own ventilators, a local doctor told the Times.
- The Jackson, Wyoming, metropolitan area is the most unequal place in the US, according to a 2018 report published by the Economic Policy Institute.
- In the Western resort town, the average income of the richest 1% is more than $16.1 million, while the average income of the remaining 99% is $122,447.
- I spent 3 days in the area last summer and I didn’t see the obvious signs of wealth inequality that I’d been expecting — largely because even the remaining 99% are earning well above the statewide median.
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Wealthy people across the globe have been fleeing major cities like New York and London to wait out the coronavirus pandemic in more secluded communities such as the Hamptons and the English countryside.
In the US, one of these communities is Jackson Hole, a picturesque Wyoming valley where billionaires go to ski. Affluent families and individuals are flying into Jackson Hole on their private jets to shelter in their vacation homes, Justin Farrell reported for The New York Times. Some are even bringing their own ventilators and other medical equipment along with them, a local doctor told the Times.
The valley’s central resort town, Jackson, is also the most economically unequal place in America, according to a 2018 report published by the Economic Policy Institute.
In the Jackson metro area, which encompasses Teton County in Wyoming and Teton County in Idaho, the wealthiest residents make, on average, 132 times as much as everyone else: The average income of the 1% is more than $16.1 million, and the average income of the bottom 99% is $122,447.
The town of 10,400 full-time residents has one hospital with equipment to ventilate 54 patients. Teton County has 57 confirmed cases of the virus, according to the hospital.
Last summer, I spent three days in the Wyoming side of the Jackson metro area. Here’s what it looks like in the most unequal place in America.
Andy Kiersz contributed reporting.
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