Different directions
The richest households grew their wealth at a similar pace as the bottom 50 percent until the 1990s. The gap accelerated before the 2008 financial crisis and accelerated again after the Covid pandemic.
Line chart showing the growth in wealth for the top 0.1 percent and bottom 50 percent of Americans from 1990 to 2025. The top 0.1 percent’s wealth rises steeply, especially after 2010, reaching over 1,200 percent growth by 2025. The bottom 50 percent shows modest growth until 2008, a sharp decline after the 2008 financial crisis, and steady gains after 2015, reaching around 450 percent by 2025.
