The wealthiest slice of Americans added another $5 trillion to their balance sheets in the second quarter of 2025, underscoring how much the current market rally is concentrating gains at the very top — and highlighting a sharp contrast with wealth dynamics elsewhere in the world.
New Federal Reserve data shows that the top 10% — those worth more than $2 million — now hold a record $113 trillion in wealth, up from $108 trillion in the previous quarter. It caps three years of uninterrupted growth, with the group amassing more than $40 trillion since 2020, a period marked by pandemic volatility, soaring equities, and tech-driven market momentum.
All wealth groups have posted increases over the past year, with the bottom half of Americans seeing their net worth rise 6%. Yet the acceleration has been sharpest for the wealthiest. The top 1% added $4 trillion in a year, lifting their combined fortunes to a record $52 trillion. The ultra-elite 0.1% — those worth at least $46 million — grew their wealth 10% over the year, nearly doubling their holdings since the pandemic to more than $23 trillion.
Despite this surge, the share of total wealth distribution has not shifted dramatically. The top 1% controlled 29% of household wealth in the second quarter, compared with 28% in 2000. The top 10% now hold 67% of all household wealth, leaving 33% for the bottom 90%.
The driving force has been equities. The value of corporate stocks and mutual funds held by the top 10% jumped from $39 trillion to $44 trillion over the past year. That group controls more than 87% of all such financial assets, showing how market gains are funneled almost exclusively upward.
Meanwhile, the number of ultra-rich Americans continues to expand. A separate report from Altrata shows the U.S. now counts 208,090 individuals worth at least $30 million, up 6.5% in just six months following a 21% jump last year, according to CNBC. That group alone represents 41% of the world’s ultra-wealthy.
This concentration of wealth has created what economists describe as a “K-shaped economy,” in which the top prospers while the lower rungs struggle with stagnant wages and higher living costs. Consumers in the top 10% of the income distribution now account for nearly half of all U.S. spending — 49.2% in the second quarter, the highest share since records began in 1989, according to Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.
So far, headline economic measures such as GDP and aggregate consumption have held up, powered by high-income spending. But economists warn of risks embedded in such dependence.
“The economy is being powered in big part by the spending of the extraordinarily well-to-do, who are cheered by the surging value of their stock portfolios,” Zandi said. “If the richly (over) valued stock market were to stumble, for whatever reason, and the well-to-do see more red on their stock tickers than green, they will quickly turn more cautious in their spending, posing a serious threat to the already fragile economy.”
Global Comparisons
The U.S. trajectory stands out globally. In Europe, wealth concentration is also rising, but more gradually. According to Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Report, the top 1% in Europe hold about 22% of household wealth — significantly lower than the 29% in the U.S. The difference reflects Europe’s heavier reliance on real estate and pensions in household wealth, as opposed to America’s deep equity markets, which disproportionately benefit investors at the very top.
Asia tells another story. China, now home to the world’s second-largest population of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, has seen wealth gains tempered by a sluggish property market and slower stock market growth. While the U.S. saw its ultra-wealthy population climb 6.5% in just six months, Altrata data shows China’s grew by less than 3% in the same period, reflecting Beijing’s crackdown on tech giants and ongoing capital controls.
In Japan, wealth inequality has been less severe, with decades of low interest rates keeping asset bubbles in check. Yet the weakening yen has eroded international purchasing power for wealthy Japanese households — the opposite of the dollar-driven wealth surge in the U.S.
On a global scale, the U.S. dominates the ultra-wealthy landscape. With 208,090 individuals worth at least $30 million, America accounts for 41% of the world’s total. Europe as a whole hosts about 25%, while Asia holds around 29%, according to Altrata. That concentration underscores the centrality of Wall Street, the tech sector, and dollar-denominated assets in fueling wealth creation.
But the U.S. model also carries greater systemic risk. While Europe’s wealth is spread more evenly between financial assets, housing, and state pensions, America’s heavy reliance on equities to drive wealth means that a downturn on Wall Street would reverberate more sharply through its consumer economy.
