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 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.

The average for 2021 based on 71 countries was 27.53 percent. The highest value was in Colombia: 43.7 percent and the lowest value was in Slovakia: 19.1 percent. The indicator is available from 1963 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

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.

Syria: Percent income earned by the top 10 percent of earners: The latest value from 2022 is 21.1 percent, a decline from 31.6 percent in 2009. In comparison, the world average is 29.75 percent, based on data from 28 countries. Historically, the average for Syria from 1996 to 2022 is 28.42 percent. The minimum value, 21.1 percent, was reached in 2022 while the maximum of 31.6 percent was recorded in 2009.

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.

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.

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.

Global income is highly unequally divided. While the richest 10 percent earned more than half of the pre-tax national income worldwide, the bottom half earned only eight percent. Global wealth is even more unequally divided.

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.

The average for 2021 based on 31 countries was 24.61 percent. The highest value was in Turkey: 34.7 percent and the lowest value was in Slovakia: 19.1 percent. The indicator is available from 1963 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

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.

This table presents income shares, thresholds, tax shares, and total counts of individual Canadian tax filers, with a focus on high income individuals (95% income threshold, 99% threshold, etc.). Income thresholds are geography-specific; for example, the number of Nova Scotians in the top 1% will be calculated as the number of taxfiling Nova Scotians whose total income exceeded the 99% income threshold of Nova Scotian tax filers. Different definitions of income are available in the table namely market, total, and after-tax income, both with and without capital gains.

Norway: Percent income earned by the top 10 percent of earners: The latest value from 2019 is 22.4 percent, an increase from 22.2 percent in 2018. In comparison, the world average is 27.07 percent, based on data from 75 countries. Historically, the average for Norway from 1979 to 2019 is 22.12 percent. The minimum value, 20.2 percent, was reached in 1986 while the maximum of 27.1 percent was recorded in 2004.

Income share held by highest 10% in Vietnam was reported at 28.1 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Vietnam - Income share held by highest 10% - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

Data and insights on Wealth Distribution in India - share of wealth, average wealth, HNIs, wealth inequality GINI, and comparison with global peers.

The richest 10 percent of the Russian population accumulated around 27 percent of the total income in the country in 2021, a share that increased from the previous year. Over the observed period, the largest share of income held by the richest 10 percent was recorded in 2019.

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Income Before Taxes by Deciles of Income Before Taxes: Highest 10 Percent (91st to 100th Percentile) (CXUINCBEFTXLB1511M) from 2014 to 2023 about percentile, tax, income, and USA.