Good article on this in the Washington Post.
The non-existent (for 93% of the country) recovery from 2009 to 2011 saw the net worth of the top 7% of the population rise, while the bottom 93% actually had their net worth drop.
The primary reason for the discrepancy: the rally in financial assets, while real estate values (which comprise most of the net worth for most people) stayed flat or dropped. Further proof that the Wall Street bailout was for the benefit of a certain class of people ...
As economy recovers, the richest get richer, study shows
From 2009 to 2011, the average net worth of the nation’s 8 million most-affluent households jumped from an estimated $2.7 million to $3.2 million, Pew said. For the 111 million households that form the bottom 93 percent, average net worth fell 4 percent, from $140,000 to an estimated $134,000, the report said.
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In the two-year period covered by the report, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose by 34 percent, while the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index slipped by 5 percent.
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