According to the latest data from the Federal Reserve, the wealth of the 50 richest people in the United States is almost equal to that of the bottom 50% of households combined.
Statistics show that white American families own 83.9% of the nation’s total wealth, while black families only account for 4.1%. Although the share of whites in the total population has declined as the United States has become more diverse, the share of wealth held by blacks has remained the same as in 1990.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows that the wealth of the 50 richest people is close to US$2 trillion, an increase of US$339 billion from the beginning of 2020. In contrast, the wealth of the bottom 50% of American households is only US$2.08 trillion, accounting for 1.9% of the total wealth of American households.
Among the 25 richest Americans, only one is not white—Yuan Zheng, CEO of video conferencing software giant Zoom Video Communications. His wealth has increased nearly seven times this year, reaching 24.2 billion US dollars.
Baby boomers own most of the wealth of the United States, reaching US$59.6 trillion, twice the US$28.5 trillion of Generation X and more than 10 times the US$5.2 trillion of Millennials. Data from the Federal Reserve shows that Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980, have made some progress in accumulating wealth in recent years, and their total net assets have doubled since mid-2016.
Those whose wealth is associated with technology companies - companies that have profited from the shift in work, shopping, entertainment, and online social interaction - have become the biggest beneficiaries of the new crown epidemic. Take Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as an example. In 2020, his wealth increased by 64% to US$188.5 billion, making him the richest man in the world. On Wednesday alone, Bezos' net worth increased by more than $5 billion.