The wealth of the 1% just hit a record $44 trillion

[Tom of Temecula]

The wealth of the top 1% hit a record $44.6 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter, as an end-of-year stock rally lifted their portfolios, according to new data from the Federal Reserve.

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. The value of corporate equities and mutual fund shares held by the top 1% surged to $19.7 trillion from $17.65 trillion the previous quarter.

While their real estate values went up slightly, the value of their privately held businesses declined, essentially canceling out all other gains outside of stocks.

The quarterly gain marked the latest addition to an unprecedented wealth boom that began in 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic market surge. Since 2020, the wealth of the top 1% has increased by nearly $15 trillion, or 49%. Middle-class Americans have also seen a rising wealth tide, with the middle 50% to 90% of Americans seeing their wealth increase 50%.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/business/money-report/the-wealth-of-the-1-just-hit-a-record-44-trillion/3375104/

[WarGamer]

1. This is why billioanires LOVE when politicians talk about income tax and corporate tax...

The only way to truly tackle economic disparity is a wealth tax...

A simple 9% annual wealth tax would pay off the national debt in less than a decade.

[walkingman]

2. This is just another example that the US is not a Democracy but a Oligarchy

The idea that we are a Democracy is just not real. When the majority of people disagrees with rich and powerful or with organised interests we seldom get the change we want. Regardless of the policy changes the masses want we don't get it unless it in the interests of those that control our US political system.

We still have regular elections, freedom of speech, and association but our policies are dominated by powerful business organisations and a small number of affluent Americans.

No matter how much it's said by the oligarchs who run the country (and who control the nation's "news" media), the idea that we are a Democracy these days is dubious at best.

As Bernie said," A society cannot sustain itself when so few have so much while so many have so little. In the richest country on Earth, the time is long overdue for us to create a government and an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent."