According to Federal Reserve data, the top 1% hold 54% of corporate equities and mutual-fund shares. It's the latest data point showing how the wealth

The wealthiest Americans now own almost all of the stock market — 89% to be exact

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2021-10-20 16:00:05

According to Federal Reserve data, the top 1% hold 54% of corporate equities and mutual-fund shares. It's the latest data point showing how the wealthiest Americans' fortunes have grown throughout the pandemic, even as the lowest-earning Americans fall behind.

The stock market has seen a robust recovery after an initial large dip in March 2020. The Federal Reserve data showed that those profiting the most from the strong market were already the wealthiest Americans.

Looking outside Wall Street, the top 1% of Americans hold more overall wealth than all the American middle class. American billionaires added $2.1 trillion to their cumulative net worths during the pandemic, according to a report from the left-leaning Institute for Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness.

The US also minted over 100 new billionaires during the pandemic, with that number going from 614 billionaires in March 2020 to 745 in October.