America’s wealthiest households are pulling further ahead of everyone else.
The top 0.1% of households gained an average of $9.6 million in net worth from the fourth quarter of 2024 through the first quarter of 2026, while the bottom half gained only about $1,200 each, says the Center for American Progress (CAP), citing Federal Reserve data.
Households in the top 1% averaged gains of $1.8 million over the same stretch.
The top 1 percent’s share of total wealth climbed from 31% to 31.6%, while the bottom half stayed flat at 2.5%.
During three consecutive quarters in 2025, the top 0.1% and top 1% wealth shares hit the highest levels on Federal Reserve records dating to 1989. Since the start of the second Trump administration, the ultrawealthy gained more than 8,000 times as much wealth per household as the bottom half.
“To provide an example of the extremity and exponential nature of wealth inequality in the United States, the 10 wealthiest Americans alone saw their real fortunes grow by a combined $259 billion over the same period, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index—about $26 billion per person, or 22 million times more than the bottom half’s $1,200 per household.”
CAP says rising stock values, tax policy changes that favor higher earners and heavy debt loads for lower-wealth families have driven the divide.
“Business and stock market trends have lifted the portfolios of the ultrawealthy to new highs. However, other American households have not seen such extreme growth from the bullish market of the past few years. The assets of the bottom half, which are largely held in housing, have seen flattening growth in recent years after the housing price run-up following the COVID-19 recession. These trends, combined with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) tax cuts for businesses and investors, threaten to further widen the wealth disparity between the rich and the middle class.”
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This post Ultra-Rich Americans Widen Wealth Gap as Top 0.1% Gains Average $9,600,000 Per Household: Report appeared first on The ICD.
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