Fact check: What is the current wealth gap between the top 1% and the bottom 99% in the US?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, the current wealth gap between the top 1% and bottom 99% in the United States is extremely significant. The data reveals that the top 1% of households held 30.9% of the country's wealth in Q4 2021, while the bottom 50% held only 2.6% ^[1]. This disparity becomes even more stark when considering that the top 1% holds nearly as much wealth as the bottom 90% and the 'P90-99' class combined ^[2].

Additional data shows that the top 10% of earners own almost two-thirds of total U.S. wealth, while the lowest 50% of earners own just 2.5% ^[3]. The concentration of wealth is further illustrated by the fact that the world's 500 richest people became vastly richer in 2024, with the wealth gap between rich and poor remaining stark ^[4]. The U.S. commands 34% of global liquid wealth and has over 6 million individuals with investable wealth of $1 million or more ^[5].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several important contextual elements that would provide a more complete understanding of wealth inequality:

• Historical trends: The analyses mention that the richest Americans have seen their fortunes expand over time ^[6], but specific historical comparisons showing how the gap has changed are not detailed in the question.
• Racial wealth divide: One analysis specifically mentions the racial wealth divide as a component of overall wealth inequality ^[6], which adds an important demographic dimension missing from the original question.
• Global context: The analyses reference economic inequality as a major challenge around the world ^[7], suggesting that U.S. wealth inequality should be understood within a broader international framework.
• Measurement methodologies: The Distributional Financial Accounts (DFA) are mentioned as a data source ^[8], indicating there are specific methodological approaches to measuring wealth distribution that could affect the interpretation of results.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself does not contain misinformation, as it is a straightforward inquiry about current wealth statistics. However, there are potential areas where bias could emerge in how the answer is interpreted or presented:

• Definitional clarity: The question doesn't specify what constitutes "wealth" (liquid assets, real estate, investments, etc.), which could lead to different interpretations of the data.
• Temporal specificity: While asking about "current" wealth gap, the most recent specific data point provided is from Q4 2021 ^[1], which may not reflect the most up-to-date situation.
• Oversimplification: The binary framing of "top 1% vs. bottom 99%" may obscure important nuances in wealth distribution across different income deciles, as evidenced by the distinction between the bottom 50% and the 90th-99th percentiles in the analyses.

The question appears to be asked in good faith without apparent bias, seeking factual information about a well-documented economic phenomenon.