The Wealth Distribution
In the United States, wealth is highly concentrated in a relatively few
hands. As of 2001, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 33.4% of
all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional,
and small business stratum) had 51%, which means that just 20% of the people
owned a remarkable 84%, leaving only 16% of the wealth for the bottom 80%
(wage and salary workers). In terms of financial wealth, the top 1% of
households had an even greater sha 39.7%. Table 1 and Figure 1 present
further details drawn from the careful work of economist Edward N. Wolff at
New York University (2004).

According to the Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 2004-2005,

Table 672,

The Top 5 percent of families got 20.8% of aggregate income

Top fifth of families got 47.6 percent
Next fifth got 23.0

So top 40 percent got 70.6 percent

The Lowest fifth of families got 4.2 percent of aggregate income
Next fifth got 9.7 percent


According to the Survey of Consumer Finances, Federal Reserve Board,

Richest 1 percent of families own 39.1 percent of wealth
Next 4 percent own 22.3 percent
Next 5 percent own 11.4 percent
Next 10 percent own 11.5 percent;

So the top 20 percent owned 84.3 percent in 1997

Bottom 40 percent owns less than 1 percent

vince norris