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 Share of Net Worth Held by the Top 1% (99th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBST01134) from Q3 1989 to Q1 2025 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

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.

The world's richest 10 percent holds more than three quarters of the world's total wealth. Although their share decreased by around five percentage points since 1995, this underlines the massive wealth inequalities existing around the world. By comparison, the poorest half of the world population holds less than two percent of global wealth. The richest percent holds more than 40 percent of the global wealth.

The average for 2021 based on 12 countries was 34.3 percent. The highest value was in Colombia: 43.7 percent and the lowest value was in El Salvador: 29 percent. The indicator is available from 1963 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

The wealth Gini index value varies between 0 (perfect equality, i.e. all households or individuals have the same wealth) and 1 (perfect inequality, i.e. one household or individual owns all the wealth, the others have none). The wealth share of the top 10% is the share of wealth owned by the richest 10% of the wealth distribution.

According to the Hurun Global Rich List 2025, the United States housed the highest number of billionaires worldwide in 2025. In detail, there were *** billionaires living in the United States as of January that year. By comparison, *** billionaires resided in China. India, the United Kingdom, and Germany were also the homes of a significant number of billionaires that year. United States has regained its first place As the founder and exporter of consumer capitalism, it is no surprise that the United States is home to a large number of billionaires. Although China had briefly overtaken the U.S. in recent years, the United States has reclaimed its position as the country with the most billionaires in the world. Moreover, North America leads the way in terms of the highest number of ultra high net worth individuals – those with a net worth of more than ***** million U.S. dollars. The prominence of Europe and North America is a reflection of the higher degree of economic development in those states. However, this may also change as China and other emerging economies continue developing. Female billionaires Moreover, the small proportion of female billionaires does little to counter critics claiming the global economy is dominated by an elite comprised mainly of men. On the list of the 20 richest people in the world, only one was a woman. Moreover, recent political discourse has put a great amount of attention on the wealth held by the super-rich with the wealth distribution of the global population being heavily unequal.

Graph and download economic data for Net Worth Held by the Top 1% (99th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBLT01026) from Q3 1989 to Q1 2025 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data was reported at 30.600 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 30.100 % for 2013. United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data is updated yearly, averaging 30.100 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2016, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30.600 % in 2016 and a record low of 25.300 % in 1979. United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

As of 2024, the richest person in Europe was Bernard Arnault, the French founder of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), the world's largest luxury goods company. Other individuals in the top ten richest people in Europe include the richest Spaniard, Amancio Ortega, who founded the fashion brand Zara, as well as the richest German, Klaus Kuehne, the founder of the shipping company Kuehne + Nagel.

Jordan: Percent income earned by the top 10 percent of earners: The latest value from 2010 is 27.4 percent, an increase from 26.6 percent in 2008. In comparison, the world average is 28.46 percent, based on data from 81 countries. Historically, the average for Jordan from 1986 to 2010 is 29.09 percent. The minimum value, 26.6 percent, was reached in 2008 while the maximum of 34.7 percent was recorded in 1992.

Graph and download economic data for Minimum Wealth Cutoff for the Top 0.1% (99.9th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBLTP1311) from Q3 1989 to Q3 2022 about wealth, percentile, and USA.

Brazil: Percent income earned by the top 10 percent of earners: The latest value from 2022 is 41 percent, a decline from 41.6 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 29.75 percent, based on data from 28 countries. Historically, the average for Brazil from 1981 to 2022 is 44.53 percent. The minimum value, 39.5 percent, was reached in 2020 while the maximum of 51.1 percent was recorded in 1989.

Algeria: Percent income earned by the top 10 percent of earners: The latest value from 2011 is 22.9 percent, a decline from 26.9 percent in 1995. In comparison, the world average is 28.10 percent, based on data from 77 countries. Historically, the average for Algeria from 1988 to 2011 is 26.47 percent. The minimum value, 22.9 percent, was reached in 2011 while the maximum of 29.6 percent was recorded in 1988.

Lesotho: Percent income earned by the top 10 percent of earners: The latest value from 2017 is 32.9 percent, a decline from 38.2 percent in 2002. In comparison, the world average is 27.48 percent, based on data from 77 countries. Historically, the average for Lesotho from 1986 to 2017 is 40.73 percent. The minimum value, 32.9 percent, was reached in 2017 while the maximum of 48.2 percent was recorded in 1994.

Lithuania: Percent income earned by the top 10 percent of earners: The latest value from 2021 is 29.1 percent, an increase from 28.5 percent in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 27.53 percent, based on data from 71 countries. Historically, the average for Lithuania from 2004 to 2021 is 27.47 percent. The minimum value, 24.5 percent, was reached in 2011 while the maximum of 29.5 percent was recorded in 2016.

Income share held by highest 10% in Brazil was reported at 40.8 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Brazil - Income share held by highest 10% - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

This statistic presents the American states with highest ratio of millionaire households per capita in 2020. In that year, New Jersey had the highest ratio of millionaire households per capita in the country, with 9.76 percent of households holding over one million U.S. dollars in assets.

This dataset presents the top 10 richest countries in the world as of 2024, ranked by GDP per capita adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). It includes data on GDP-PPP per capita, total GDP, global GDP share, population, and continent for each country.