Almost all Americans have seen an increase in wealth since the pandemic, but a subset of affluent households is experiencing a decline in their share of the overall wealth.
From the end of 2019, households in the 90-to-99.9 percent bracket of wealth have been losing their share of the US total to those in the bottom half and the top 0.1 percent, as per data from the US Federal Reserve. These families, who are well-off but not ultra-rich, typically earn around $430,000 in annual income.
US households have collectively gained $37 trillion in wealth in the past four years, but this increase has been more concentrated among the very wealthy – the top 0.1 percent.
Approximately 133,000 households in this group now hold about $20 trillion in wealth collectively, averaging around $150 million per household by the end of 2023. This marks a 47 percent increase during this period.
The top 0.1 percent now possess 13.6 percent of total household wealth, near a record for this group in Fed data dating back to 1989. Meanwhile, the shares held by the bottom half and much of the middle class have also continued to grow. The proportions for the 90-to-99 percent and 99-to-99.9 percent groups are each near their lowest since the early 2000s.
However, the pandemic era has not addressed the growing inequalities in the country. The roughly 13 million households just below the top 0.1 percent still fall within the upper tier and collectively hold slightly over half of the nation's wealth. In contrast, the 66 million households in the lower half only hold 2.5 percent of the US total.
