Trump Boasts of ‘Record’ Market, But Only the Richest 10% of Americans Own 84% of All Stocks
While Trump likes to boast about the “record” Dow numbers, only the oligarchy, i.e. the richest 10% of Americans, own 84% of all stock. Although the stock market is at an all-time high, Americans owe more, save less, and are poorer than they have been in decades.
By Jay Syrmopoulos
TheFreeThoughtProject.com
January 9, 2018
Washington, D.C. – President Donald Trump consistently extolls the virtues of the “record” number of all-time high Dow Jones closes seen during his tenure as POTUS—portraying the health of the stock market as a barometer of the country’s overall economic health.
But the reality is that Trump is simply discussing how well American oligarchs are doing—not the average American citizen.
A recent study, by NYU economist Edward N. Wolff, reveals this unsavory fact in stark detail.
In fact, the truth is that the top 10% of American households—defined by total wealth—now own 84% of all stocks as of the year 2016, according to the stunning analysis.
“Despite the fact that almost half of all households owned stock shares either directly or indirectly through mutual funds, trusts, or various pension accounts, the richest 10% of households controlled 84% of the total value of these stocks in 2016,” Wolff writes.
According to a report by Money, a Time Inc. magazine:
That number—which accounts for individual shares as well as stocks held via mutual funds—represents a big change from 2001, when the top 10% owned just 77% of all stocks.
Furthermore, while virtually all (94%) of the very rich reported having significant stock holdings—as defined as $10,000 or more in shares—only 27% of the middle class did. (The study framed that middle class as the group between the poorest 20% and the richest 20% of Americans.)
The concentration of stock holdings among the rich, Wolff says, is due to the twin stock market busts of 2001 and 2008. While the middle class was scared off by these declines, he explains, wealthier investors were able to swoop in and increase their holdings.
Or in more appropriately put, when those market crashes occured – the average Joe/Jane likely ended up with a home financially underwater and a decimated 401K – thus leaving those that have the financial means (rich people) to accumulate further wealth.
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