The wealth gap in the United States continues to widen as the richest Americans see their fortunes soar to historic levels.
According to new data released by the Federal Reserve, the wealth of the top 1% of Americans has reached an unprecedented $52 trillion, driven largely by gains in the stock market and a resilient economy that continues to favor the affluent.
The top 10% of Americans – those with a net worth exceeding $2 million – added $5 trillion to their wealth in the second quarter of 2025 alone.
Their total wealth now stands at a record $113 trillion, up from $108 trillion in the first quarter. Since 2020, this elite group has added more than $40 trillion to their balance sheets, reflecting the strength of financial markets and the concentration of equity ownership among the wealthy.
While all income groups experienced some growth in net worth over the past year, the pace of wealth accumulation remains sharply skewed toward the top.
The bottom 50% of Americans saw their wealth rise by a modest 6% in the past year, while the top 1% enjoyed a 7% increase, equivalent to $4 trillion in new wealth.
Also See: Netflix Stock Slumps as Elon Musk Urges Boycott Amid Content Controversy
The ultra-elite 0.1% those worth at least $46 million experienced the largest surge, with a 10% gain over the past year, nearly doubling their total wealth since the pandemic to more than $23 trillion.
Despite these massive gains, the overall distribution of wealth in the U.S. has remained relatively unchanged for decades.
The top 1% currently control 29% of total household wealth, compared with 28% in 2000. The top 10% hold a commanding 67% share, while the remaining 90% of Americans collectively own just one-third of the nation’s wealth.
The main engine behind this soaring wealth is the stock market, which has disproportionately benefited the richest Americans.
The value of corporate equities and mutual fund shares owned by the top 10% rose from $39 trillion to over $44 trillion in the past year.
In total, this group owns 87% of all U.S. stocks and mutual funds, underscoring how dependent the upper class is on market performance.
At the same time, the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals those with assets of at least $30 million—continues to climb.
A report from Altrata found a 6.5% increase in this population during the first half of 2025, following a 21% surge in 2024. The United States now has 208,090 individuals worth $30 million or more, accounting for 41% of the global total.
Economists warn that this growing concentration of wealth poses economic risks. According to Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi, consumer spending is increasingly dominated by the affluent. The top 10% now account for 49.2% of total U.S. consumer spending, the highest level since records began in 1989.
“The economy is being powered by the spending of the extraordinarily well-to-do,” Zandi said. “If the stock market were to stumble and their portfolios lose value, their reduced spending could pose a serious threat to an already fragile economy.”
As the gap between the rich and everyone else continues to widen, the U.S. faces an economy that appears strong on paper but increasingly depends on the fortunes of a small, wealthy few.
