Have We Hit Peak Inequality?
By Chuck Collins / OtherWords
his piece originally ran on OtherWords.
When should we be alarmed about so much wealth in so few hands?The Great Recession and its anemic recovery only deepened the
economic inequality that’s drawn so much attention in its wake. Nearly
all wealth and income gains since then have flowed to the top one-tenth
of America’s richest 1 percent.
The very wealthiest 400 Americans command dizzying fortunes. Their combined net worth, as catalogued in the 2015 Forbes 400 list, is $2.34 trillion. You can’t make this list unless you’re worth a cool $1.7 billion.
These 400 rich people — including Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Oprah
Winfrey, and heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune — have roughly as much wealth
as the bottom 60 percent of the population, or over 190 million people
added together, according to a new report I co-authored.
