The wealthiest 1 percent of households own 34.6 percent of all privately held wealth, and 42.7 percent of all financial wealth (total net worth minus the value of one's home).
The bottom 80 percent of the population holds just 15 percent of the total wealth and only 7 percent of the total financial wealth (as a large portion of their wealth is tied up in their homes).
The bottom 40 percent of Americans — that's 120 million people — hold just 0.3 percent of the wealth.
Today, an American in the top 1 percent takes in an average of $1.3 million per year, while the average American earns just $33,000 per year.
The United States has more income and wealth inequality than India and China
Among the 299 companies listed in the S&P 500 Index, the average CEO's compensation was $11.4 million in 2010, or 343 times more than the median pay ($33,190) of American workers. The ratio of CEO pay to median worker pay was just 42:1 in 1980, and is currently 25:1 in Europe.
299 CEOs have a combined income of $3.4 billion per year, which could pay for 102,325 average American jobs.
Between 1979 and 2005, the average after-tax income for the top 1 percent increased by 176 percent, compared with an increase of only 6 percent for the bottom 20 percent.
Between 1990 and 2005, the purchasing power of the federal minimum wage actually declined by 9.3 percent when adjusted for inflation.
wad: #3 is so sad. it is worse than some 3rd world countries...
this must stop