According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data carried out by The Wall Street Journal, the total wealth of the richest 0.1% of Americans has more than doubled since the end of 2019.
In dollar terms, the wealthiest Americans have become $14.5 trillion richer over that period. This top 0.1% now controls about $28 trillion, or roughly 15% of the country’s total wealth, which stands at nearly $186 trillion. The average household wealth in this group is more than $200 million. By comparison, the rest of the top 10% of Americans gained $38.2 trillion over the same period, but that wealth was spread across almost a hundred times as many households.
Recent stock-market gains by the ultra-rich 0.1% exceed the total wealth of the bottom 50% of all Americans, which is about $4 trillion. The bottom half’s share of total wealth—averaging around $63,000 per household—amounts to just 2.3% of the country’s overall wealth. The average household in the top 0.1% holds more than three thousand times as much wealth as a household in the bottom half.
“The surge in wealth at the very top has become a political flashpoint, fuelling the rise of socialist politicians such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani,” The Wall Street Journal notes.