Who controls most of the US wealth?
The top 1% of American earners now control more wealth than the nation's entire middle class, federal data show. More than one-quarter of all household wealth, 26.5%, belongs to Americans who earn enough money to rank in the top percentile by income, according to Federal Reserve statistics through mid-2023.
Federal Reserve data indicates that as of Q4 2021, the top 1% of households in the United States held 32.3% of the country's wealth, while the bottom 50% held 2.6%.
Just as Congress and the president control fiscal policy, the Federal Reserve System dominates monetary policy, the control of the supply and cost of money.
The pyramid shows that: half of the world's net wealth belongs to the top 1%, top 10% of adults hold 85%, while the bottom 90% hold the remaining 15% of the world's total wealth, top 30% of adults hold 97% of the total wealth.
In the U.S., it may take you $5.81 million to be in the top 1%, but it takes a minimum net worth of $30 million to be considered among the ultra-high net worth crowd. As of the end of 2023, this ultra-high net worth population is on the rise, reaching 626,000 globally, up from just over 600,000 a year earlier.
The richest 1% own almost half of the world's wealth, while the poorest half of the world own just 0.75%
The 95th percentile, with a net worth of $3.2 million, is considered wealthy, facilitating estate planning and possibly owning multiple homes. The top 1%, or the 99th percentile, has a net worth of $16.7 million and represents the very wealthy, who enjoy considerable financial freedom and luxury.
Prior to 1971, the US dollar was backed by gold. Today, the dollar is backed by 2 things: the government's ability to generate revenues (via debt or taxes), and its authority to compel economic participants to transact in dollars.
The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 by the Federal Reserve Act to serve as the nation's central bank. The Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., is an agency of the federal government and reports to and is directly accountable to the Congress.
The Fed controls the supply of money by increas- ing or decreasing the monetary base. The monetary base is related to the size of the Fed's balance sheet; specifically, it is currency in circulation plus the deposit balances that depository institutions hold with the Federal Reserve.
Who controls 50% of the world's wealth?
The richest 1 percent grabbed nearly two-thirds of all new wealth worth $42 trillion created since 2020, almost twice as much money as the bottom 99 percent of the world's population, reveals a new Oxfam report today. During the past decade, the richest 1 percent had captured around half of all new wealth.
The total net worth of the top 1%, defined by the Fed as those with wealth over $11 million, increased by $2 trillion in the fourth quarter. All of the gains came from their stock holdings.
For 2022, the average wage for working Americans was $61,136. The average wages of those in the top 1 percent of wage earners were $785,968 that year. In the rarefied top 0.1 percent, the average earnings were more than $2.8 million in 2022.
This effectively means the top 1% are those with more than $10 million (~25m) and the top 0.1% are those with roughly $1 billion. There are estimated to be a little over 8 million households in the US with a net worth of $3 million or more. I very much doubt that any of them have that amount in savings.
Household wealth or net worth is the value of assets owned by every member of the household minus their debt. The terms are used interchangeably in this report. Assets include owned homes, vehicles, financial accounts, retirement accounts, stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and more.
As of 2022 (the most recent Census data), the average median household income in the U.S. was $73,914, meaning the national range for the middle class is roughly $49,271 to $147,828. Across the nation's largest cities, the range is between $51,558 and $154,590, according to SmartAsset.
With an estimated wealth of $305 billion, the Royal family of Abu Dhabi- Al Nahyan family— is known as the richest family in the world. The head of the Al Nahyan family, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the ruler and President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Although there is no world currency, there are reserve currencies that are used in various financial transactions by central banks, corporations, and governments. Since World War II, the dominant reserve currency of the world has been the U.S. dollar.
Common types of securities include bonds, stocks and funds (mutual and exchange-traded). Funds and stocks are the bread-and-butter of investment portfolios. Billionaires use these investments to ensure their money grows steadily.
Let's break it down with a cold splash of truth. There are about 22 million people in the US sitting on a net worth of over $1 million. That might seem like a hefty squad of millionaires to you, but let's put things into perspective. That's less than 7% of the U.S. adult population, my friend.
What net worth puts you in the top 5%?
Additionally, statistics show that the top 2% of the United States population has a net worth of about $2.4 million. On the other hand, the top 5% wealthiest Americans have a net worth of just over $1 million.
According to a recent study, almost 24.5 million millionaires live in the U.S. today. To put that into perspective, that's more people than the entire population of Florida! And that number is growing. Here's the thing: Millionaires probably don't look the way you think they do.
Currently, the gold standard isn't used as the monetary system for any nation. The last country to abandon it was Switzerland, which severed ties between its currency and gold in 1999. Not coincidentally, Switzerland has the seventh largest gold reserve of all countries.
Inflation would result if the dollar collapsed, decreasing the real value of the dollar when compared to other global currencies, which in effect would reduce the value of your 401(k).
Where can I get golden dollars? The U.S. Mint sells golden dollars directly to the public from its website (Off-site), or you may ask your local bank if it has any inventory.
