How Rich are the Super Rich?

A huge share of the nation’s economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who now make an average of $27 million per household. The average income for the bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244.

This is the first of a series of 11 charts by Dave Gilson and Carolyn Perot courtesy of Mother Jones. We will be reprinting a selection every 24 hours this week. For more cutting edge journalism from Mother Jones, please sign up for their free newsletter at motherjones.com/newsletter.  

Note: The 2007 data (the most current) doesn’t reflect the impact of the housing market crash. In 2007, the bottom 60% of Americans had 65% of their net worth tied up in their homes. The top 1%, in contrast, had just 10%. The housing crisis has no doubt further swelled the share of total net worth held by the superrich.

Sources

Income Distribution: Emmanuel Saez

Net worth: Edward Wolff