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The top 10 percent own 84 percent of stocks [0]. About a third of stocks are owned by various retirement instruments (pensions, IRAs, etc) [1]. These numbers do

The top 10 percent own 84 percent of stocks [0]. About a third of stocks are owned by various retirement instruments (pensions, IRAs, etc) [1]. These numbers don't add up because it is an apples to oranges comparison, which might not be the breakdown OP was looking for. 0: http://www.nber.org/papers/w24085 http://www.nber.org/papers/w24085 1: https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000790-The-Dwindling-Taxable-Share-of-U.S.-Corporate-Stock.pdf https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/alfresco...

ImprovedSilence 8y ago
But 84+33>100...? I know you have sources there, but something doesn’t as up. I suppose there is overlap in top 10%, and retirement accounts. Also, top 10% are a lot of people, and they are probably mostly the ones close to retirement. Not saying there’s not wealth inequality, but look towards the top .01%. Also, I have an online brokerage account that I use to invest in stock. It’s not tax deferred, or labeled as retirement fund, but it is definitely a supplement to my 401k, and I only plan to withdraw as retirement. I would wager there’s a bit of “unlabeled” money like that out there too.
- N_trglctc_joe 8y ago
  > But 84+33>100...? I know you have sources there, but something doesn’t as up. There's only a contradiction if the two groups are mutual exclusive. Retirement accounts belonging to those in the top 10% will be counted in both categories. Assuming the data is good, a little math shows that less than half of stocks owned by retirement accounts belong to the bottom 90%.