Wealth inequality in the United States

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The inequality of wealth (i.e., inequality in the distribution of assets) has substantially increased in the United States since the late 1980s. Wealth commonly includes the values of any homes, automobiles, personal valuables, businesses, savings, and investments, less any associated debts. Although different from income inequality, the two are related. Wealth is usually not used for daily expenditures or factored into household budgets. However, combined with income, it represents a family's total opportunity to secure stature and a meaningful standard of living, or to pass their class status down to their children. Moreover, wealth provides for both short- and long-term financial security, bestows social prestige, contributes to political power, and can be leveraged to obtain more wealth. Hence, wealth provides mobility and agency—the ability to act. Accumulating wealth enables a variety of freedoms and removes limits on life that one might otherwise face. Federal Reserve data indicates...

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