Wealth has been increasingly concentrated since the Great Recession, with just 10 percent of U. S. population owning 84 percent of stocks.
A stock market rally, which has since reversed, propelled U. S. household net worth to a record high of $109 trillion in the July-September quarter.
The Federal Reserve said Thursday that the value of Americans’ stock and mutual fund holdings soared $1.2 trillion. Home values rose $200 billion. Other assets, such as bank accounts, also increased. Total net worth climbed $2 trillion from nearly $107 trillion in the April-June quarter.
Greater household wealth can help the economy by lifting consumer spending. Yet wealth has been increasingly concentrated since the Great Recession, with just 10 percent of U. S. population owning 84 percent of stocks.
Richer households are less likely to spend from additional wealth compared with poorer ones.
