Final answer:
The top 1% of the United States population owns about one-third of the country's wealth, with the top 20% holding about 89%. This significant concentration of wealth reveals a stark economic inequality that has been growing over the decades, leading to public concern and debate.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the United States, wealth distribution is highly skewed towards the top echelons of society, reflecting significant economic inequality. According to various sources, the top 1% of the population holds a disproportionately large share of the nation's wealth. Noteworthy statistics from Domhoff (2013) indicate that in 2010, the top 1% of households owned 35.4% of all privately held wealth. The next 19% of the population, predominantly managerial and professional individuals, controlled an additional 53.5%. Consequently, the top 20% possessed an astonishing 89% of the wealth, severely limiting the share of the bottom 80% of the population. Beeghley (2008) and the Federal Reserve (2021) reinforce this point by confirming that the wealthiest 1% own approximately one-third of the country's wealth, a trend that appears to have deepened over the years. Moreover, the global contrast in wealth is also pronounced, with reports such as Oxfam's in 2014 highlighting the stark disparity between the exceedingly wealthy and the vast majority of the world's population.
The emergence of what some scholars dub a 'second gilded age' emphasizes the growing gulf between the rich and the rest. Zucman (2019) points out the stark reality that 400 families have more wealth than the combined assets of the 'lower' 150 million Americans. Similarly, interpretations of economic trends leading up to social movements such as Occupy Wall Street spotlight the uneven economic growth, emphasizing that the top 1% secured the majority of economic growth gains, while average workers saw only minimal wage increases. This amplifies public concern and debates around wealth concentration and economic inequity in America.