Are You in the Top 10%?
- Matthew Ramer
- Mar 16, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 7, 2022
Dear Clients & Friends,
Since I’m traveling, this will be a short Weekend Reading. A conversation that I had with clients in my Vero office inspired me to share some data about wealth in America with you. Most of our readers might find this information to be surprising.
A household income of $118,200 puts a person in the top 10% of US income earners. A household income of $166,200 puts a person in the top 5% of US income earners.(1) I know that this is somewhat hard to believe; given the cost of healthcare, post-high school education, and many other disturbingly expensive necessities, most people who earn $120k don’t consider themselves to be highly affluent.
Here are a few more statistics that illustrate the distribution of wealth in America:
People representing the lower 60% of net worth in the US possess only 3% of the wealth in America(2)
The wealthiest 10% of Americans control 76% of America’s total wealth(3)
A net worth of $1,182,000 puts a person in the wealthiest 10% of Americans(4)
A net worth of $93,170 (USD) puts a person in the wealthiest 10% of the global population(5)
If you have a net worth of $770,000 (USD), you are in the wealthiest 1% of the global population!(6)
I think it’s a wise practice to align our personal perspectives with reality. Warren Buffett once said, “If you’re in the luckiest 1% of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99%.” We are proud that this philosophy is so prevalent among the family of clientele that we serve.
Have a lovely weekend.
- Matthew
US Census 2006
Statistica 2019
DQYDJ, 2019
CNN, 2018
CNBC, 2016
Investopedia, 2019
Matthew Ramer, AIF® Principal, Financial Advisor MOR Wealth Management, LLC
1801 Market Street, Suite 2435 Philadelphia, PA 19103 P: 267.930-8301 | c: 215-694-4784 | f: 267.284.4847 |
601 21st Street, Suite 300 Vero Beach, FL 32960 P: 772-453-2810
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