Economists say the rising stock market is giving an added boost to consumer spending through what is known as the "wealth effect."

Key Points

  • The wealth of the top 1% hit a record $44.6 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter.
  • All of the gains came from stock holdings thanks to an end-of-year rally.
  • Economists say the rising stock market is giving an added boost to consumer spending through what is known as the “wealth effect.”

The wealth of the top 1% hit a record $44.6 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter, as an end-of-year stock rally lifted their portfolios, according to new data from the Federal Reserve.

The total net worth of the top 1%, defined by the Fed as those with wealth over $11 million, increased by $2 trillion in the fourth quarter. All of the gains came from their stock holdings. The value of corporate equities and mutual fund shares held by the top 1% surged to $19.7 trillion from $17.65 trillion the previous quarter.

While their real estate values went up slightly, the value of their privately held businesses declined, essentially canceling out all other gains outside of stocks.

  • merc
    101·
    8 months ago

    The article is talking about the US. (Because of course it is).

    So, it’s only 3.3 million people, so it’s $13.5 million each on average.

    So that means if you have more than $550 000 in wealth, you are a one percenter.

    No, that’s not how distributions work.

    If Elon Musk walks into a bar, it’s a Nazi bar now. Also, if he walks into a bar with 99 other people in it, the average wealth of everyone in the bar is $2 billion. But, that doesn’t mean that the typical person in that group has over $2b in wealth.

    The top 1% contains Elon Musk plus about 3.3 million other people, but he skews the distribution considerably. That means the bottom of the distribution of the top 1% is around $6m, and it also includes people like Musk and Bezos who bring the average up to $13.5m per person.