Data from two surveys recently released by the Federal Reserve (Fed), the central bank of the United States , reveal surprising insights into the increasing wealth inequality in the country and the population's consumption patterns, which reflect particular characteristics of the American economy.
The first statistic indicates that the total wealth held by the richest Americans is now at its highest level since World War II. The second reveals that the wealthiest 20% of the population is responsible for 59% of all consumer spending – a figure attributed to the rise in the stock market .
The disparity between rich and poor in the US is nothing new, but it has become more pronounced since the pandemic. One of the Fed's surveys indicates that this gap is growing at a level not seen since the middle of the last century. According to data from the third quarter of 2025, the richest 1% of American families controlled 31.7% of the country's wealth. This was equivalent to US$55 trillion, almost the same as the poorest 90% combined.
Other data from the Fed, compiled by the consulting firm Moody's Analytics, points to the growth of what experts call a K-shaped economy – where the rich continue to prosper, while the rest of the population lags behind. It's a divergence that resembles the two arms of the letter K.
In this survey, Moody's reveals that the wealthiest 20% are increasingly driving consumption – this group is responsible for 59% of all consumer spending. Meanwhile, only 41% of consumer spending comes from the poorest 80% of the population, a record low.
According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's, the rise in the stock market – which saw strong gains last year, largely thanks to investments in artificial intelligence – has widened the growing disparity between these two groups.
"The economy is barely being sustained by the wealthiest," warns Zandi. "If the stock market crashes, which would affect the wealthiest, then a recession will be more likely than unlikely."
According to him, wealthier families tend to benefit more from bull markets because a larger portion of their assets is invested in stocks and other securities. On the other hand, middle-income families tend to have their assets invested in their homes, and the growth in property prices has slowed.
"Low-income Americans are facing difficulties with increasingly high debt," says Zandi.
Investing in stocks
The stock market is a type of investment adopted by 62% of American adults – about 162 million people – either directly (buying individual stocks) or indirectly (funds, ETFs, and retirement plans). Although more than half of the American population owns stocks, they are not evenly distributed – the wealthiest 1% owns more than half of these shares.
This explains why the wealthiest 20% have accumulated greater gains from stock market appreciation. Unequal wage growth also contributes to this disparity. Higher-income Americans have seen their wages grow at a faster rate than those of other income groups.
Data from Bank of America shows that wage growth for the highest-income families was 3% in December 2025, compared to 1.5% and 1.1% for middle- and low-income families, respectively.
According to Zandi, this growing inequality helps explain the deterioration of consumer confidence among most Americans in recent years. It also justifies, he argues, the growing social disconnect in the US—and the rise of extremist views on both sides.
"There is a huge group of people whose standard of living hasn't changed," notes the Moody's economist. "What has grown in this group is only anger."
