The Richest 20 Americans Are Now As Wealthy As Half Of The Entire U.S. Population Combined

The richest 20 Americans, with a combined net worth of $732billion, are as wealthy as half of the U.S. population, according to a new study.

Findings showed that the country’s 20 wealthiest people, which includes Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, now own more wealth than the bottom half of the population combined or 152 million people.

The study by the Institute for Policy Studies also found that America’s wealthiest 400, with a combined net worth of $2.34trillion, own more wealth than that of a staggering 194 million people – the bottom 61 per cent of the country combined.

Among the 20 wealthiest Americans are eight founders of corporations, nine heirs, two investors and a casino mogul.

The list includes Gates of Microsoft, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and four Waltons who are heirs of Wal-Mart.

The report, which was published on Tuesday, also found that instead of resembling a pyramid, America’s wealth distribution now resembles the shape of Seattle’s Space Needle.

‘The bulge at the top of our wealth “space needle” reflects America’s wealthiest 0.1 per cent, the top one-thousandth of our population, an estimated 115,000 households with a net worth starting at $20million,’ the study said.

Daily mail.com