In the first quarter of 2025, almost ********** of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10 percent of earners. In comparison, the lowest ** percent of earners only owned *** percent of the total wealth. Income inequality in the U.S. Despite the idea that the United States is a country where hard work and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps will inevitably lead to success, this is often not the case. In 2024, *** percent of U.S. households had an annual income under 15,000 U.S. dollars. With such a small percentage of people in the United States owning such a vast majority of the country’s wealth, the gap between the rich and poor in America remains stark. The top one percent The United States was the country with the most billionaires in the world in 2025. Elon Musk, with a net worth of *** billion U.S. dollars, was among the richest people in the United States in 2025. Over the past 50 years, the CEO-to-worker compensation ratio has exploded, causing the gap between rich and poor to grow, with some economists theorizing that this gap is the largest it has been since right before the Great Depression.

Out of all 50 states, New York had the highest per-capita real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, at 92,341 U.S. dollars, followed closely by Massachusetts. Mississippi had the lowest per-capita real GDP, at 41,603 U.S. dollars. While not a state, the District of Columbia had a per capita GDP of more than 210,780 U.S. dollars. What is real GDP? A country’s real GDP is a measure that shows the value of the goods and services produced by an economy and is adjusted for inflation. The real GDP of a country helps economists to see the health of a country’s economy and its standard of living. Downturns in GDP growth can indicate financial difficulties, such as the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, when the U.S. GDP decreased by 2.5 percent. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on U.S. GDP, shrinking the economy 2.8 percent. The U.S. economy rebounded in 2021, however, growing by nearly six percent. Why real GDP per capita matters Real GDP per capita takes the GDP of a country, state, or metropolitan area and divides it by the number of people in that area. Some argue that per-capita GDP is more important than the GDP of a country, as it is a good indicator of whether or not the country’s population is getting wealthier, thus increasing the standard of living in that area. The best measure of standard of living when comparing across countries is thought to be GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) which uses the prices of specific goods to compare the absolute purchasing power of a countries currency.

In 2023, roughly 1.49 billion adults worldwide had a net worth of less than 10,000 U.S. dollars. By comparison, 58 million adults had a net worth of more than one million U.S. dollars in the same year. Wealth distribution The distribution of wealth is an indicator of economic inequality. The United Nations says that wealth includes the sum of natural, human, and physical assets. Wealth is not synonymous with income, however, because having a large income can be depleted if one has significant expenses. In 2023, nearly 1,700 billionaires had a total wealth between one to two billion U.S. dollars. Wealth worldwide China had the highest number of billionaires in 2023, with the United States following behind. That same year, New York had the most billionaires worldwide.

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is normally a triennial cross-sectional survey of U.S. families. The survey data include information on families' balance sheets, pensions, income, and demographic characteristics.

Private banks have grown recently as wealth managers have capitalized on the growing number of millionaires in emerging markets. The relative strength of the US economy has propelled private banks, as wealthy individuals worldwide have sought to park their wealth in secure assets like urban real estate. Even amid volatility in capital markets due to the pandemic at the onset of the period, rampant inflation and significant interest rate hikes, market accumulation during the period has spurred growth. Overall, the need for private banking services has increased as the global number of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals has grown. Industry-wide revenue has been growing at a CAGR of 7.3% to $114.7 billion over the past five years, including an expected jump of 6.8% in 2025 alone. Industry profit has also grown and comprises 39.2% of revenue in the same year. Higher interest rates have increased interest income from fixed-income securities such as bonds and higher asset values due to the growth of the S&P 500 have increased performance fees, boosting profit. A key theme driving growth is the rise of globalization. During the period, wealthy individuals expanded in regions outside the US, most notably the Asia-Pacific region. In turn, wealth managers have increasingly engaged in cross-border wealth management practices to push up assets under management. The Russia-Ukraine conflict and conflict in the Middle East, compounded by rising interest rates in the latter part of the period, induced volatility in capital markets, driving clients to private banks. However, in 2024, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and is anticipated to cut rates further in the near future, which will maintain volatility in capital markets. Private banks will enjoy interest rate cuts and capital market growth over the next five years. Profit will creep downward as interest rates will fall compared to the current period. Reduced interest rates give private banks fewer margins from loans and deposits, resulting in limited growth. High competition among private banks will spur increased investment in value-added services to attract clients. Overall, industry revenue is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 0.7% to $119.0 billion over the five years to 2030.

In 2025, Luxembourg was the country with the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. Of the 20 listed countries, 13 are in Europe and five are in Asia, alongside the U.S. and Australia. There are no African or Latin American countries among the top 20. Correlation with high living standards While GDP is a useful indicator for measuring the size or strength of an economy, GDP per capita is much more reflective of living standards. For example, when compared to life expectancy or indices such as the Human Development Index or the World Happiness Report, there is a strong overlap - 14 of the 20 countries on this list are also ranked among the 20 happiest countries in 2024, and all 20 have "very high" HDIs. Misleading metrics? GDP per capita figures, however, can be misleading, and to paint a fuller picture of a country's living standards then one must look at multiple metrics. GDP per capita figures can be skewed by inequalities in wealth distribution, and in countries such as those in the Middle East, a relatively large share of the population lives in poverty while a smaller number live affluent lifestyles.

In 2024, the national gross income per capita in Brazil amounted to around 9,950 U.S. dollars, an increase from 9,310 dollars per person in the previous year. Gross national income (GNI) is the aggregated sum of the value added by residents in an economy, plus net taxes (minus subsidies) and net receipts of primary income from abroad. Excluding countries and territories in the Caribbean, Uruguay and Chile were the Latin American countries with the highest national income per capita. Demographic elements and income There are many factors that may influence the income level, such as gender, academic attainment, location, ethnicity, etc. The gender pay gap, for example, is significant in Brazil. As of 2024, the monthly income per capita of men was 3,549 Brazilian reals, while the figure was 2,793 reals in the case of women. Additionally, monthly per capita household income varies greatly from state to state; the figures registered in Distrito Federal and São Paulo more than double the income of federative units like Acre, Alagoas or Maranhão. A high degree of inequality The Gini coefficient measures the degree of income inequality on a scale from 0 (total equality of incomes) to 100 (total inequality). Between 2010 and 2023, Brazil's degree of inequality in wealth distribution based on the Gini coefficient reached 52. That year, Brazil was deemed one of the most unequal countries in Latin America. Although the latest result represented one of the worst values in recent years, the Gini index is projected to improve slightly in the near future.