The 10% wealthiest of Americans now own 89% of the US stocks. It is a record high that highlights the role of the stock market, which is increasing with its wealth inequality.
The top 1% has gained more than $6.5 trillion in corporate equities and mutual fund wealth during the pandemic. On the other hand, 90% of the bottom has added $1.2 trillion as per the latest data from the Federal Reserve.
The US stocks share of the corporate equities and the mutual fund that the top10% owns has reached a record high in the second quarter. The bottom of 90% of the Americans is holding about 11% of the individually held stocks. It is down from 12% for the pandemic.
The stock market has doubled since it dropped in March 2020. It has been up nearly 40% since January 2020. It was the main source of wealth creation in America during the time of the pandemic. Also, it is the main driver of inequality. The total wealth of the top 1% has now topped 32%. 70% of their wealth gains over the past year and a half is the fastest wealth boom in recent history.
The surging concentration of wealth is coming despite millions of new investors coming into the stock market for the first time. It is leading to the democratization of the stocks. As per Robinhood, more than 10 million accounts from the past two years now have over 2 million. Many of them are younger or first-time investors.
However, the gain and the wealth that the market is creating is not having a wide distribution. Many young investors have bought in at higher price ranges compared to the bigger investors. Many of the new ones have a trading mentality.
The top 10% have seen the value of their stock gain 43% between the January 2020 and June Of 2021. The bottom 90% have seen stock wealth rise at a lower rate of 33%. They might now account for a larger share or a trading activity. However, it is different from ownership and wealth.