America's Wealth Concentration: Top 1% Now Owns More Than Bottom 90% Combined Since 1989
This article analyzes how America's wealth distribution has shifted dramatically since 1989, showing that the top 1% of households now own more wealth than the bottom 90% combined. It examines the different asset compositions across wealth groups — with the top 1% heavily invested in stocks and business equity, while middle and lower-income households hold more of their wealth in homes and retirement accounts. The piece uses Federal Reserve data to track these trends over three decades, highlighting the growing concentration of wealth at the very top and the stagnation of wealth accumulation for the bottom half of Americans.
Key quotes
Because different wealth groups own very different mixes of assets, long-term trends in asset prices affect them in very different ways.
The top 1% now owns more household wealth than the bottom 90% combined.
Wealth reflects the value of everything households own, including homes, stocks, businesses, and savings, minus what they owe.
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