Investing 102

[GregWeld]

Interesting statistic for WHY "richer" people are richer.... Certainly makes perfect sense to me...

If you RENT a place - you have ZERO upside. If you OWN a home... you are far better off than the Renter... If you OWN a business or have some money to actually INVEST... you're better off than just the guy that owns a home as his only asset. DOH!!


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In 2003, the wealthiest 5% of Americans had a net worth 13 times that of the median household. By 2013, that disparity had nearly doubled, with these households holding 24 times that of the median.

The main reason for this increasing wealth gap: not only do the rich have more assets, but they have more of the assets that have performed better. More than half of a typical household’s wealth is in real estate. But a median household in the top 5% keeps only 16% of wealth in home equity. More of their assets are in businesses (49%) and financial investments like stocks and bonds (25%). So these households have gained far more from the recent equity bull market.