In the first quarter of 2025, almost two-thirds percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10 percent of earners. In comparison, the lowest 50 percent of earners only owned 2.5 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 2023, 7.4 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 342 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.

Graph and download economic data for Net Worth Held by the Top 0.1% (99.9th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBLTP1246) from Q3 1989 to Q1 2025 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Nonfinancial Corporate Business; Corporate Equities as a Percentage of Net Worth, Level (BOGZ1FL103164106A) from 1945 to 2024 about net worth, equity, nonfinancial, percent, Net, business, and USA.

In the first quarter of 2024, almost two-thirds percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10 percent of earners. In comparison, the lowest 50 percent of earners only owned 2.5 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 2023, 7.4 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 follows closely behind China as the country with the most billionaires in the world. Elon Musk alone held around 219 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. 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.

Graph and download economic data for Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income, Level (HNONWPDPI) from Q4 1946 to Q1 2025 about net worth, disposable, nonprofit organizations, personal income, percent, Net, households, personal, income, and USA.

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.

Over ** million individuals residing in the United States belonged to the global top one percent of ultra-high net worth individuals worldwide in 2022. China ranked second, with over **** million top one percent wealth holders globally. France followed in third.

In 2021, about **** million individuals in North America had financial assets worth at least *********** U.S. dollars. This equaled to a combined worth of about ***** trillion U.S. dollars, an increase from ***** trillion U.S. dollars in 2020.

As of 2019, ** percent of millionaires in the United States had a net worth of between *********** and ********************** U.S. dollars. On the other end of the scale, **** percent of millionaires had a net worth of over *** million U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Net Worth Held by the Bottom 50% (1st to 50th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBLB50107) from Q3 1989 to Q1 2025 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

United States - Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income, Level was 760.04% in January of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income, Level reached a record high of 832.87 in January of 2022 and a record low of 455.44 in July of 1974. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income, Level - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

In 2023, by far the highest number of individuals with net assets of at least ** million U.S. dollars worldwide were residing in North America, reaching over ******* people. Asia recorded the second highest number of UHNWIs in the world with over ******* individuals.A small share owns vast sums of wealthThe vast majority of global wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few people. Only *** percent of the global population owns assets worth more than *** million U.S. dollars. The richest people in the world are Elon Mask, Jeff Bezos, and Bernard Arnault. When it comes to women, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers led the ranking of the most affluent women worldwide. The wealth of over ** percent of UHNWIs was self-made. Where UHNWIs live and where they leave Unsurprisingly, as North America is the world region with the highest number of UHNWIs, the United States is the country with the highest UHNWI count. However, Hong Kong, special administrative (SAR) region in China, is the city with the highest number of UHNWIs. Nevertheless, China was the country that recorded the highest outflux of UHNWIs in 2022.

The largest share of assets held by high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in North America in 2024 was cash and cash equivalents, which accounted for ** percent of the total assets held by HNWIs in the United States and Canada that year. North America is the region with both the highest assets of HNWIs, and with the highest number of HNWIs. Who is considered a HNWI? To be considered a HNWI, their financial assets must exceed at least *** million U.S. dollars. In addition to HNWIs, the term ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) refer to individuals with financial assets of at least ** million U.S. dollars. The highest number of UHNWIs in the world are also found in North America, with more than ******* individuals. How many HNWIs are there in the U.S.? Most of the leading position of North America in terms of number and assets of HNWIs and UHNWIs is attributed to the United States. The number of UHNWIs in the United States reaches almost ******* individuals, which is almost **** times as many as in China, the country with the second highest number of UHNWIs.

The average net worth of families in the United States increased nearly twofold between 1989 and 2007, when it reached ******* U.S. dollars. Following the financial crisis of 2008, the average net worth of Americans families dropped to ******* U.S. in 2013. In the following years, American families' net worth started increasing again, reaching a value of nearly ******* U.S. dollars.

In the third quarter of 2024, the top ten percent of earners in the United States held over ** percent of total wealth. This is fairly consistent with the second quarter of 2024. Comparatively, the wealth of the bottom ** percent of earners has been slowly increasing since the start of the *****, though remains low. Wealth distribution in the United States by generation can be found here.

Graph and download economic data for Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income, Level (BOGZ1FL152090006A) from 1946 to 2024 about net worth, disposable, nonprofit organizations, personal income, percent, Net, households, personal, income, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth, Percent Change in Index (BOGZ1PC152090005A) from 1946 to 2024 about net worth, nonprofit organizations, Net, households, and USA.

This statistic shows the median net worth by in U.S. households by age of householder in 2011. The net worth describes personal assets minus debt. Median denotes the midpoint of a group—in this case the point at which 50 percent of the households have more wealth and 50 percent have less. In 2011, the median net worth of people aged younger than 35 was 6,676 U.S. dollars. This is much less than the median net worth of all householders, which is at approximately 69,000 U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Nonfinancial Corporate Business; Corporate Equities as a Percentage of Net Worth, Level (NCBCEPNW) from Q4 1945 to Q1 2025 about net worth, equity, nonfinancial, corporate, business, Net, percent, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Nonfinancial Corporate Business; Debt as a Percentage of Net Worth (Market Value), Level (NCBCMDPNWMV) from Q4 1945 to Q1 2025 about credit market, net worth, market value, nonfinancial, debt, percent, Net, corporate, business, and USA.