The disparity in wealth across America has reached its highest level in thirty years.

America’s Wealth Gap Continues to Widen

Recent Federal Reserve data highlights the persistence of a K-shaped economy in the United States, where the wealthiest Americans continue to pull ahead while those in the lower and middle income brackets fall further behind.

In the third quarter of 2025, the wealthiest 1% of households controlled 31.7% of the nation’s total wealth—a record high since the Federal Reserve began tracking these figures in 1989. This concentration has increased even as wealth growth for most Americans has stagnated or slowed.

Altogether, the top 1% held assets worth approximately $55 trillion during this period, which is nearly equivalent to the combined wealth of the bottom 90% of the population.

“Household wealth is highly concentrated and becoming steadily more concentrated,” explained Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, in an interview with CBS News.

Billionaire Fortunes Surge Worldwide

This latest look at wealth inequality comes as billionaires’ fortunes are rising rapidly both in the U.S. and globally. According to an Oxfam International report released this week, billionaire wealth in 2025 grew at a pace three times faster than the average annual rate seen over the previous five years.

Currently, the world’s richest individual is Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose net worth is estimated at $668 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

What’s Fueling the Growing Divide?

The trend of increasing wealth inequality in America is not new, but the gap has become even more pronounced since the pandemic, says Zandi.

Spending habits further illustrate these disparities. In the second quarter of 2025, the top 10% of earners were responsible for nearly half of all consumer spending in the U.S., based on Zandi’s analysis of Federal Reserve statistics.

One major factor behind the widening gap is the surge in stock market values. The market saw significant gains last year, largely driven by investments in artificial intelligence. Wealthier households benefit most from these rallies, as a greater portion of their assets are invested in stocks and similar financial instruments.

A Gallup poll found that 87% of Americans who own stocks live in households with annual incomes of $100,000 or more.

Meanwhile, middle-income families typically have most of their wealth tied up in their homes, and the growth in home values has been slowing. Lower-income Americans are also facing increasing debt burdens, according to Zandi.

Disparities in wage growth are also contributing to the divide. Higher-income earners have seen their paychecks grow faster than those in other income groups. Bank of America data shows that in December 2025, wage growth for high-income households reached 3%, compared to just 1.5% for middle-income and 1.1% for lower-income households.

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