I saw this back in October, but have been too busy to post, what with Cynthia McKinney's campaign, work and family.
Doug Henwood reported this set of statistics about the distribution of wealth in the US in 2004. By 2007, it was likely even more skewed to the wealthy than these numbers are. For 2008, perhaps, it is less so. However, while I have a feeling the wealth of those 10% with the most wealth have fallen noticeably, what with stock market falling 50% from its high, I have a feeling that the half of the population with the least wealth, have seen their wealth actually go negative since the housing boom went very bust.
What this table shows is the value of assets (Residential – i.e. home(s) & Nonresidential – i.e. stocks/bonds/etc.) owned by different segments of the US population in 2004. The first row is the average over the whole population. 0-50 is the 50% of the US population with the least assets, etc.
| % | Residential | Nonresidential |
|---|---|---|
| avg | $111,055 | $337,211 |
| 0-50 | $12,859 | $9,975 |
| 50-90 | $134,217 | $179,308 |
| 90-95 | $299,964 | $775,946 |
| 95-99 | $549,156 | $2,145,622 |
| 99-100 | $1,423,091 | $13,826,364 |