The wealthy have done well over the past few decades, in a supernova kind of way. A ton has been written on this, because the data is abundant. There is shocking data at the extremes: the top 0.1% now own more of the nation’s wealth than the bottom 80%.11 The three richest Americans hold more wealth than the bottom 50%. And there is bad news in broad strokes as well: since 1983, the share of national wealth owned by lower- and middle-income families has declined from 39% of the pie to 21%, while upper-income families have increased their share of national wealth from 60% to 79%.
