America’s wealth divide is increasingly becoming a story not just of the rich versus everyone else, but of the ultra rich separating from even other wealthy Americans, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Federal Reserve data show that the wealth of the top 0.1% has more than doubled since the end of 2019, with the divergence accelerating around the pandemic. Much of that increase has come from soaring financial markets.
WSJ writes that the roughly 137,000 households in the top 0.1% now control about $28 trillion, or roughly 15% of the country’s estimated $186 trillion in total wealth. That works out to more than $200 million per household on average.
Since 2019, this group has added approximately $14.5 trillion in wealth, with around $10 trillion coming from stocks and mutual funds (before this week).
The richest Americans own enormous amounts of financial assets, meaning a rising stock market disproportionately increases their net worth. In the 12 months through June 30, as the S&P 500 climbed 21%, the top 0.1% accumulated nearly $4 trillion in additional market wealth.
The divide is enormous even among wealthy Americans. The rest of the top 10% gained about $38.2 trillion since 2019, but those gains were spread across nearly 100 times as many households.
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