Money
Household Income Distribution in the U.S. Visualized as 100 Homes
Household Income Distribution in the U.S. Visualized as 100 Homes
Income inequality and wealth disparity have been frequent topics of conversation, even before the pandemic upended the economy.
Now, rising inflation and interest rates, and a possible recession on the horizon are bringing these societal divides into sharp focus.
In the above visualization, U.S. households are parsed out into a neighborhood of 100 homes and then grouped by income brackets, using recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Neighborhood Breakdown
American households vary widely on their respective incomes. The largest cluster of homes, representing nearly 20% of all American households, are in the $25-$49.9k income bracket.
Here’s a look at the share of households in each income bracket and the number of homes they represent.
| Household Income | Share of Total | Number of Homes |
|---|---|---|
| Under $25K | 18.1% | 18 |
| $25K-$49.9K | 19.7% | 20 |
| $50K-$74.9K | 16.5% | 17 |
| $75K-99.9K | 12.2% | 12 |
| $100K-$149.9K | 15.3% | 15 |
| $150k-$199.9K | 8.0% | 8 |
| Over $200K | 10.3% | 10 |
In our hypothetical neighborhood, 18 of the households are in the lowest income bracket. People in this category have a wide variety of jobs, but personal care aides, cashiers, food and beverage positions are some of the most common. As a point of reference, the poverty line for a family of four currently sits at $26,496.
On the flip side, in this small community of 100 houses, 33 earn six figures and typically have at least one family member in a corporate or medical role.
The American Middle Class
The middle class in America has shrunk significantly in the past 50 years, going from 61% of adults being middle income in 1971 to 50% in 2021.
Here’s a look at the economic class breakdowns by annual household income, based on households with three people (Note: the average U.S. household has 2.6 people):
- Upper class: >$156,000
- Middle class: $52,000-$156,000
- Lower class: <$52,000
Although these definitions and conditions don’t align exactly with the buckets we use in the main houses visualization, they come pretty close.
In the neighborhood of 100 homes, 38 homes could be considered low income, while 18 are high income. Meanwhile, sitting in the $50-149.9k middle range of household income are 44 homes.
The Larger Trends
The pandemic had an extremely adverse impact on earnings and income worldwide, and the U.S. was no exception.
Median household income decreased 2.9% to $67.5k between 2019 and 2020, the first decrease since 2014. Additionally, the number of people who worked full-time jobs, year-round decreased by around 13.7 million.
That said, when looking at the longer-term trend, the median income for those considered middle class has jumped by 50% over the last five decades. Here’s a look at the median incomes in each economic class in 1970 vs. 2020:
| 1970 Median Household Income (in 2020 $) | 2020 Median Household Income | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low Income | $20,604 | $29,963 | 45% |
| Middle Income | $59,934 | $90,131 | 50% |
| Upper Income | $130,008 | $219,572 | 69% |
With a recession highly likely to occur in the U.S., and rising inflation causing increases in the cost of basic, everyday goods, budgets may get tighter for many households in America, and incomes are likely to be impacted as well.
Money
The Richest People in the World in 2023
The world’s five richest people are worth a combined $729 billion. From luxury moguls to Asia’s rising titans, we show the richest in 2023.
The Richest People in the World in 2023
After witnessing record gains in wealth, ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) lost a combined $10 trillion last year.
A lagging stock market dented these fortunes against high interest rates, energy shocks, and economic uncertainty. But some of the world’s billionaires have flourished in this environment, posting sky-high revenues in spite of inflationary pressures.
With data from Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List, we feature a snapshot of the richest people in the world in 2023.
Luxury Mogul Takes Top Spot
The world’s richest person is France’s Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of LVMH.
With 75 brands, the luxury conglomerate owns Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany. LVMH traces back to 1985, when Arnault cut his first major deal with the company by acquiring Christian Dior, a firm that was struggling with bankruptcy.
Fast-forward to today, and the company is seeing record profits despite challenging market conditions. Louis Vuitton, for instance, has doubled its sales in four years.
In the table below, we show the world’s 10 richest people with data as of February 27, 2023:
| Rank | Name | Source | Net Worth Feb 2023 | Change 2022-2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernard Arnault & family | LVMH | $202B | 28% |
| 2 | Elon Musk | Tesla, SpaceX | $191B | -13% |
| 3 | Jeff Bezos | Amazon | $117B | -32% |
| 4 | Larry Ellison | Oracle | $113B | 7% |
| 5 | Warren Buffett | Berkshire Hathaway | $106B | -10% |
| 6 | Bill Gates | Microsoft | $105B | -19% |
| 7 | Carlos Slim Helu & family | Telecom | $90B | 11% |
| 8 | Mukesh Ambani | Diversified | $84B | -8% |
| 9 | Steve Ballmer | Microsoft | $81B | -11% |
| 10 | Françoise Bettencourt Meyers & family | L'Oréal | $79B | 5% |
Elon Musk, the second-wealthiest person in the world has a net worth of $191 billion. In October, Musk took over Twitter in a $44 billion dollar deal, which has drawn criticism from investors. Many say it’s a distraction from Musk’s work with Tesla.
While Tesla shares have rebounded—after falling roughly 70% in 2022—Musk’s wealth still sits about 13% lower than in March of last year.
Third on the list is Jeff Bezos, followed by Larry Ellison. The latter of the two, who founded Oracle, owns 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai which he bought in 2012 for $300 million.
Fifth on the list is Warren Buffett. In his annual letter to shareholders, he discussed how Berkshire Hathaway reported record operating profits despite economic headwinds. The company outperformed the S&P 500 Index by about 22% in 2022.
How Fortunes Have Changed
Given multiple economic crosscurrents, billionaire wealth has diverged over the last year.
Since March 2022, just four of the top 10 richest in the world have seen their wealth increase. Two of these are European magnates, while Carlos Slim Helu runs the largest telecom firm in Latin America. In fact, a decade ago Slim was the richest person on the planet.
Jeff Bezos has seen his wealth decline 32%, or $54 billion, the most across the top 10 richest. Amazon posted a $2.7 billion net loss for the full year of 2022, its worst year yet.
Overall, as the tech sector saw dismal returns over the year, the top 10 tech billionaires lost almost $500 billion in combined wealth.
Recent Shakeups in Asia
Perhaps the most striking news for the world’s richest centers around Gautam Adani, formerly the richest person in Asia.
In January, Hindenburg Research, a short-selling firm, released a report claiming that the Adani Group engaged in stock manipulation and fraud. Specifically, the alleged the firm used offshore accounts to launder money, artificially boost share prices, and hide losses.
The Adani Group, which owns India’s largest ports—along with ports in Australia, Sri Lanka, and Israel—lost $100 billion in value in the span of a few weeks.
Interestingly, very few Indian mutual funds hold significant shares in Adani Group, signaling a lack of confidence across India’s market, which was also cited in Hindenburg’s report.
As a result, Mukesh Ambani has climbed to Asia’s top spot, controlling a $84 billion empire that spans from oil and gas and renewable energy to telecom. His conglomerate, Reliance Industries is the largest company by market cap in India.
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