Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller is said to have become America’s first billionaire in 1916. Now, there are 2,755 billionaires in the world, with around 724 in the United States, according to Forbes. And there are predictions that Elon Musk could become the first trillionaire in the near future. (Here are countries with the richest rich people.)
It is no secret that the world’s rich are getting richer. In order to be considered a top one percenter, a U.S. household needs to make around $550,000 annually. This is the minimum. The average income for Americans in the top 1% is nearly $1.7 million, according to IRS data. The top 1%, which comprised 1.85 million U.S. households in 2021, currently hold over $50 trillion in wealth.
To identify the wealth of the top 1% the year you were born, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the total wealth of the top 1% of households for each year going back to 1976 from Real Time Inequality. which provides statistics on how economic growth is distributed across groups.
An average household in the top 1% in 1976 had $4.3 million in wealth (adjusted for inflation), a figure that increased to $27.3 million per household in 2021.
Total wealth among the 1% has risen from $4.24 trillion in 1976 to $50.55 trillion in 2021. During that time, the share of wealth the 1% captured increased from 23.9% to 38.9%. Meanwhile, according to the same source, the bottom 50% went from owning 0.2% of total wealth in 1976 to having a negative net wealth at -0.1% in 2021 – that’s negative $180.49 billion. (Here are the countries with the worst wealth inequality.)
The total wealth of the 1%, which was rising recently at about $2.5 trillion per year, skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Total wealth holdings of the 1% rose a whopping $5.6 trillion from 2020 to 2021 alone – the single highest annual wealth increase over the 45 years reviewed. From 2019 to 2020, wealth of the 1% increased by the second largest amount, at $5.5 trillion, while the third largest annual increase was from 2018 to 2019, at $4.4 trillion.
Click here to see how wealthy was the 1% each year since 1976
Click here to read our detailed methodology
1976
> Total wealth of top 1%: $4.24 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $4,341,739 — #45 most
> 1% wealth share: 23.9% — #45 largest
> Households in 1%: 975,762
> Total households: 97,576,192
[in-text-ad]
1977
> Total wealth of top 1%: $4.37 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $4,356,478 — #44 most
> 1% wealth share: 24.0% — #44 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,002,458
> Total households: 100,245,823
1978
> Total wealth of top 1%: $4.45 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $4,338,166 — #46 most
> 1% wealth share: 23.2% — #46 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,026,577
> Total households: 102,657,711
1979
> Total wealth of top 1%: $5.07 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $4,814,074 — #43 most
> 1% wealth share: 24.8% — #43 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,054,010
> Total households: 105,400,965
[in-text-ad-2]
1980
> Total wealth of top 1%: $5.36 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $4,968,722 — #41 most
> 1% wealth share: 24.9% — #42 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,078,702
> Total households: 107,870,214
1981
> Total wealth of top 1%: $5.44 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $4,955,035 — #42 most
> 1% wealth share: 25.2% — #40 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,098,812
> Total households: 109,881,223
[in-text-ad]
1982
> Total wealth of top 1%: $5.73 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $5,113,960 — #40 most
> 1% wealth share: 25.7% — #38 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,121,124
> Total households: 112,112,442
1983
> Total wealth of top 1%: $5.91 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $5,187,915 — #39 most
> 1% wealth share: 25.3% — #39 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,139,931
> Total households: 113,993,117
1984
> Total wealth of top 1%: $6.13 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $5,279,329 — #38 most
> 1% wealth share: 25.0% — #41 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,161,110
> Total households: 116,111,031
[in-text-ad-2]
1985
> Total wealth of top 1%: $6.98 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $5,880,821 — #37 most
> 1% wealth share: 25.9% — #37 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,186,328
> Total households: 118,632,757
1986
> Total wealth of top 1%: $7.77 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $6,413,697 — #36 most
> 1% wealth share: 26.5% — #36 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,210,974
> Total households: 121,097,418
[in-text-ad]
1987
> Total wealth of top 1%: $8.48 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $6,905,500 — #35 most
> 1% wealth share: 27.8% — #35 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,228,192
> Total households: 122,819,155
24/7 Wall St.
1988
> Total wealth of top 1%: $9.69 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $7,783,822 — #33 most
> 1% wealth share: 30.0% — #31 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,245,128
> Total households: 124,512,801
1989
> Total wealth of top 1%: $10.23 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $8,088,704 — #31 most
> 1% wealth share: 29.9% — #33 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,264,691
> Total households: 126,469,133
[in-text-ad-2]
1990
> Total wealth of top 1%: $10.00 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $7,769,605 — #34 most
> 1% wealth share: 30.0% — #32 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,286,672
> Total households: 128,667,214
1991
> Total wealth of top 1%: $10.43 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $7,953,154 — #32 most
> 1% wealth share: 29.8% — #34 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,311,197
> Total households: 131,119,748
[in-text-ad]
1992
> Total wealth of top 1%: $10.97 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $8,249,717 — #30 most
> 1% wealth share: 30.8% — #29 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,330,334
> Total households: 133,033,397
1993
> Total wealth of top 1%: $11.41 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $8,461,595 — #28 most
> 1% wealth share: 30.8% — #27 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,348,562
> Total households: 134,856,165
1994
> Total wealth of top 1%: $11.40 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $8,352,477 — #29 most
> 1% wealth share: 30.5% — #30 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,365,296
> Total households: 136,529,609
[in-text-ad-2]
1995
> Total wealth of top 1%: $12.48 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $8,987,675 — #27 most
> 1% wealth share: 30.8% — #28 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,388,871
> Total households: 138,887,101
1996
> Total wealth of top 1%: $13.44 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $9,536,662 — #26 most
> 1% wealth share: 31.3% — #26 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,409,086
> Total households: 140,908,588
[in-text-ad]
1997
> Total wealth of top 1%: $15.55 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $10,880,460 — #25 most
> 1% wealth share: 32.8% — #25 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,429,299
> Total households: 142,929,905
1998
> Total wealth of top 1%: $17.72 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $12,194,748 — #23 most
> 1% wealth share: 33.6% — #21 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,453,187
> Total households: 145,318,673
1999
> Total wealth of top 1%: $19.69 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $13,344,488 — #18 most
> 1% wealth share: 34.1% — #18 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,475,321
> Total households: 147,532,062
[in-text-ad-2]
2000
> Total wealth of top 1%: $19.40 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $13,037,136 — #21 most
> 1% wealth share: 34.0% — #19 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,487,932
> Total households: 148,793,232
2001
> Total wealth of top 1%: $19.29 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $12,798,577 — #22 most
> 1% wealth share: 33.7% — #20 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,507,058
> Total households: 150,705,811
[in-text-ad]
2002
> Total wealth of top 1%: $18.08 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $11,850,778 — #24 most
> 1% wealth share: 33.0% — #24 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,525,519
> Total households: 152,551,896
2003
> Total wealth of top 1%: $20.36 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $13,202,459 — #19 most
> 1% wealth share: 33.5% — #23 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,542,490
> Total households: 154,248,993
2004
> Total wealth of top 1%: $22.78 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $14,542,266 — #14 most
> 1% wealth share: 33.6% — #22 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,566,553
> Total households: 156,655,305
[in-text-ad-2]
2005
> Total wealth of top 1%: $24.89 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $15,685,322 — #12 most
> 1% wealth share: 34.5% — #17 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,586,738
> Total households: 158,673,826
2006
> Total wealth of top 1%: $26.65 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $16,580,473 — #10 most
> 1% wealth share: 35.3% — #15 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,607,452
> Total households: 160,745,154
[in-text-ad]
2007
> Total wealth of top 1%: $27.06 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $16,582,944 — #9 most
> 1% wealth share: 35.9% — #14 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,631,913
> Total households: 163,191,262
2008
> Total wealth of top 1%: $22.11 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $13,418,076 — #17 most
> 1% wealth share: 36.1% — #13 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,647,833
> Total households: 164,783,258
2009
> Total wealth of top 1%: $22.01 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $13,157,120 — #20 most
> 1% wealth share: 35.3% — #16 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,672,911
> Total households: 167,291,088
[in-text-ad-2]
2010
> Total wealth of top 1%: $24.31 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $14,362,495 — #15 most
> 1% wealth share: 36.9% — #12 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,692,397
> Total households: 169,239,701
2011
> Total wealth of top 1%: $24.48 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $14,227,079 — #16 most
> 1% wealth share: 37.6% — #9 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,720,404
> Total households: 172,040,403
[in-text-ad]
2012
> Total wealth of top 1%: $27.05 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $15,593,715 — #13 most
> 1% wealth share: 39.0% — #1 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,734,800
> Total households: 173,480,024
2013
> Total wealth of top 1%: $28.98 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $16,455,764 — #11 most
> 1% wealth share: 37.7% — #8 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,761,081
> Total households: 176,108,055
2014
> Total wealth of top 1%: $31.42 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $17,654,790 — #8 most
> 1% wealth share: 38.3% — #3 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,779,890
> Total households: 177,988,996
[in-text-ad-2]
2015
> Total wealth of top 1%: $32.04 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $17,686,730 — #7 most
> 1% wealth share: 38.1% — #5 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,811,474
> Total households: 181,147,354
2016
> Total wealth of top 1%: $33.32 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $18,429,019 — #6 most
> 1% wealth share: 37.9% — #6 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,808,243
> Total households: 180,824,317
[in-text-ad]
2017
> Total wealth of top 1%: $36.22 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $19,907,512 — #4 most
> 1% wealth share: 37.9% — #7 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,819,475
> Total households: 181,947,484
2018
> Total wealth of top 1%: $35.09 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $19,157,304 — #5 most
> 1% wealth share: 37.5% — #11 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,831,577
> Total households: 183,157,723
2019
> Total wealth of top 1%: $39.50 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $21,478,657 — #3 most
> 1% wealth share: 37.6% — #10 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,838,967
> Total households: 183,896,734
[in-text-ad-2]
2020
> Total wealth of top 1%: $44.99 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $24,345,278 — #2 most
> 1% wealth share: 38.2% — #4 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,848,066
> Total households: 184,806,570
2021
> Total wealth of top 1%: $50.55 trillion
> Avg. wealth per top 1% household: $27,271,088 — #1 most
> 1% wealth share: 38.9% — #2 largest
> Households in 1%: 1,853,587
> Total households: 185,358,697
Methodology
To identify the wealth of the top 1% the year you were born, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the total wealth of the top 1% of households for each year going back to 1976 from RealTime Inequality, which provides statistics on how economic growth is distributed across groups with research conducted by economists Thomas Blanchet, Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman.
All dollar figures are annualized and adjusted for price inflation to 2021 dollars. The average wealth per household, the population, and the 1% wealth share are also from RealTime Inequality, and all data is for the fourth quarter of each year. RealTime Inequality wealth definition includes all marketable wealth owned by households.
The #1 Thing to Do Before You Claim Social Security (Sponsor)
Choosing the right (or wrong) time to claim Social Security can dramatically change your retirement. So, before making one of the biggest decisions of your financial life, it’s a smart idea to get an extra set of eyes on your complete financial situation.
A financial advisor can help you decide the right Social Security option for you and your family. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you.
Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you optimize your Social Security outcomes.
Have questions about retirement or personal finance? Email us at [email protected]!
By emailing your questions to 24/7 Wall St., you agree to have them published anonymously on a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.
By submitting your story, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
