5 ms·

There are millions of people in the 1%. The 400 people at the very top aren't going to come into it much.

hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
But even within the 1%, the income distribution is highly skewed, i.e. those 400 people are responsible for a very sizable total of the overall wealth within the 1%.
- MuffinFlavored 9y ago
  i'd be curious to know around what portion the 400 people are responsible for
  - llamataboot 9y ago
    "With a combined worth of $2.34 trillion, the Forbes 400 own more wealth than the bottom 61 percent of the country combined, a staggering 194 million people. The median American family has a net worth of $81,000. The Forbes 400 own more wealth than 36 million of these typical American families." http://www.ips-dc.org/billionaire-bonanza/ http://www.ips-dc.org/billionaire-bonanza/
    - jjeaff 9y ago
      That is the favorite to parrot around. It's not that impressive considering the large percentage of the world's population has a negative net worth. http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2014/04/04/stop-adding-up-the-wealth-of-the-poor/ http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2014/04/04/stop-adding...
      - hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
        That quote also included the comparison to the median family net worth.
      - 5555624 9y ago
        The quote says, "... the bottom 61 percent of the country combined, a staggering 194 million people." It's not comparing the number to the world's population.
    - diggernet 9y ago
      According to that article, the 1% are worth around $26 trillion. So to answer the Muffin's question, looks like the 400 have just over 10% of the 1%er wealth.
  - jjeaff 9y ago
    Looks like about 1.9% Estimates put the total net worth of the world's richest 1% at 140 trillion. The Forbes 400 has about 2.7t net worth.
- uiri 9y ago
  Income distribution and wealth distribution are not the same. It is perfectly possible to earn $500k/year (which would put you in the top 1% of income distribution that this article is talking about) and spend every penny of it, leaving you at the end of the year with the same amount of wealth that you had at the start of the year. Similarly, it is possible to earn $200k/year (not in the top 1% for income) and save very aggressively.

But even within the 1%, the income distribution is highly skewed, i.e. those 400 people are responsible for a very sizable total of the overall wealth within the 1%.

MuffinFlavored 9y ago
i'd be curious to know around what portion the 400 people are responsible for
- llamataboot 9y ago
  "With a combined worth of $2.34 trillion, the Forbes 400 own more wealth than the bottom 61 percent of the country combined, a staggering 194 million people. The median American family has a net worth of $81,000. The Forbes 400 own more wealth than 36 million of these typical American families." http://www.ips-dc.org/billionaire-bonanza/ http://www.ips-dc.org/billionaire-bonanza/
  - jjeaff 9y ago
    That is the favorite to parrot around. It's not that impressive considering the large percentage of the world's population has a negative net worth. http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2014/04/04/stop-adding-up-the-wealth-of-the-poor/ http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2014/04/04/stop-adding...
    - hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
      That quote also included the comparison to the median family net worth.
    - 5555624 9y ago
      The quote says, "... the bottom 61 percent of the country combined, a staggering 194 million people." It's not comparing the number to the world's population.
  - diggernet 9y ago
    According to that article, the 1% are worth around $26 trillion. So to answer the Muffin's question, looks like the 400 have just over 10% of the 1%er wealth.
- jjeaff 9y ago
  Looks like about 1.9% Estimates put the total net worth of the world's richest 1% at 140 trillion. The Forbes 400 has about 2.7t net worth.
uiri 9y ago
Income distribution and wealth distribution are not the same. It is perfectly possible to earn $500k/year (which would put you in the top 1% of income distribution that this article is talking about) and spend every penny of it, leaving you at the end of the year with the same amount of wealth that you had at the start of the year. Similarly, it is possible to earn $200k/year (not in the top 1% for income) and save very aggressively.