Three Richest Americans Now Own More Wealth Than Bottom Half of US Combined: Report
"The elite ranks of our billionaire class continue to pull apart from the rest of us," a new Institute for Policy study analysis finds
by Jake Johnson, staff writer
In the United States, the 400 richest individuals now own more wealth than the bottom 64 percent of the population and the three richest own more wealth than the bottom 50 percent, while pervasive poverty means one in five households have zero or negative net worth.
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"The wealthiest 25 individuals in the United States today own $1 trillion in combined assets," the report notes. "These 25, a group equivalent to the active roster of a major league baseball team, hold more wealth than the bottom 56 percent of the U.S. population combined, 178 million people."'
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In order to get a broader sense of the size of the chasm between rich and poor in the U.S., Collins and Hoxie place the net worth of the top one percent and the bottom one percent side by side.
"The wealthiest 25 individuals in the United States today hold more wealth than the bottom 56 percent of the U.S. population combined, 178 million people." "All combined, households in the bottom one percent have a combined negative net worth of $196 billion," the report finds. "For comparison, the top one percent, a category holding the exact same number of people, have positive $33.4 trillion in combined net worth."
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