Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos has topped Forbes‘ list of richest Americans for the third year in a row, while US President Donald Trump’s ranking dropped as the coronavirus pandemic slammed his office buildings, hotels and resorts, the magazine says.

The aggregate wealth of the Forbes 400 list rose to a record $US3.2 trillion ($4.39 trillion), as the richest Americans continued to do well even though the pandemic has devastated the economy and caused more than 1.8 million Americans to lose their jobs.

Eric Yuan, chief executive officer of Zoom Video Communications, which has become ubiquitous in the work-from-home era, was one of 18 newcomers on the list with a net worth of $US11 billion.

Mr Trump’s ranking dropped to No.352 from No.275 last year as his net worth fell to $US2.5 billion from $US3.1 billion, as office buildings, hotels and resorts, have suffered during the pandemic.

Trump’s net worth dropped $600 million in a year to $2.5 billion. That puts him at No. 339 on the #Forbes400, down 64 spots from a year ago https://t.co/mUhHNyLiWO by @DanAlexander21 pic.twitter.com/5esPwYAzGs

— Forbes (@Forbes) September 8, 2020

His business, the Trump Organisation, owns property in all three categories.

Mr Trump has long refused to release his tax records, and has been locked in a battle with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who subpoenaed Mr Trump for eight years of personal and corporate returns.

The annual list can serve as a way to track the wealthiest people in the country who hold the most power, said Kerry Dolan, assistant managing editor of wealth at Forbes, in an interview with Reuters TV.

“As a society, we all should know who is behind the biggest companies and what they’re doing with their money,” she said.

https://t.co/SMySDGZhBm

— Forbes (@Forbes) September 8, 2020