Economy
Richest 1% of Americans close to surpassing wealth of middle class

(Bloomberg) — The U.S.’s historic economic expansion has so enriched one-percenters they now hold almost as much wealth as the middle- and upper-middle classes combined.
The top 1% of American households have enjoyed huge returns in the stock market in the past decade, to the point that they now control more than half of the equity in U.S. public and private companies, according to data from the Federal Reserve. Those fat portfolios have America’s elite gobbling up an ever-bigger piece of the pie.
The very richest had assets of about $35.4 trillion in the second quarter, or just shy of the $36.9 trillion held by the tens of millions of people who make up the 50th percentile to the 90th percentile of Americans — much of the middle and upper-middle classes.
Chalk up at least part of their good fortune to interest rates, said Stephen Colavito, chief market strategist at Lakeview Capital Partners, an Atlanta-based investment firm for high-net-worth investors. People can’t get much of a return on certificates of deposits and other passive investments, so they’ve pumped money into stocks and propped up the market overall, he said.
Read: Worst-performing bank stock is now seeing world’s biggest surge
In turn, those investments make the wealthy eligible to put money into exclusive hedge funds and private equity funds. Many such funds require $5 million of investments to qualify.
“The wealthier that the wealthy get, the more opportunity they have,” Colavito said.
It may not be long before one-percenters actually surpass the middle and upper-middle classes. Household wealth in the upper-most bracket grew by $650 billion in the second quarter of 2019, while Americans in the 50th to 90th percentiles saw a $210 billion gain.
While the Federal Reserve data measure wealth, by another measurement the top 1% of taxpayers had incomes starting at $515,371 in 2017, according to the latest Internal Revenue Service data.
For now, those Americans in 90th to 99th percentiles — well-to-do, but not the super rich — still control the biggest share of wealth, with $42.6 trillion in assets.
The lone group left out of the fun: the bottom 50% of Americans. Those households have 35.7% of liabilities in the U.S. and just 6.1% of assets.
Read: World’s Most-Loved Megabank Is Surrounded by a Lending Crisis
Age also plays a role in wealth. Some young people have recently taken to mocking older Americans for being out of touch, hurling the term “OK Boomer” around social media. However, Baby Boomers born between the end of the Second World War and 1964 may have the last laugh. They had wealth that was 11 times higher than that of millennials as of the second quarter.
-
Banking & Finance3 weeks ago
Oman Arab Bank Announces Increase of Authorised Capital to RO500mn and Paid‑In Capital Boost of RO50mn
-
OER Magazines2 months ago
OER, May 2025
-
Alamaliktistaad Magazines2 months ago
Al-Iktisaad, May 25
-
Bahrain3 weeks ago
SPIEF 2025 focused on global and regional economic processes, market transformation, new tech, investment climate, financial policy and people
-
Banking & Finance1 month ago
Central Bank of Oman Issues Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks
-
Banking & Finance2 months ago
United Finance Company: Strategically Serving Oman’s Auto Market with Faster, Customer-First Solutions
-
Insurance2 months ago
Liva Insurance Sets New Benchmark with ‘Innovative Insurer of the Year’ Award at the New Age Banking Summit 2025
-
Banking & Finance1 month ago
The Future of the International Financial System to be discussed at SPIEF 2025