President Obama is presiding over an economy which currently has the highest income inequality since the 1920s, with the 400 richest Americans (all billionaires) having as much wealth as the bottom 50 percent of Americans combined.
But, perhaps more obscene, the wealth of just one family, the Waltons, heirs to the Walmart fortune, is equal to the combined net worth of the bottom 30 percent of Americans, thinkprogress reports.
The triennial Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is one of the best sources for data on wealth in the U.S. And, of course the Forbes 400 estimates the worth of the wealthiest amongst us—all 400 wouldn’t be captured in the SCF. If you look at both the SCF and the Forbes 400 we can glean some interesting insights.
In 2007 (the most recent SCF) the cumulative wealth of the Forbes 400 was $1.54 trillion or roughly the same amount of wealth held by the entire bottom fifty percent of American families. This is a stunning statistic to be sure.
Upon closer inspection, the Forbes list reveals that six Waltons—all children (one daughter-in-law) of Sam or James “Bud” Walton the founders of Wal-Mart—were on the list. The combined worth of the Walton six was $69.7 billion in 2007—which equated to the total wealth of the entire bottom thirty percent!
Yet, the Waltons lobby to cut their own taxes all across the country, including in Orange County.
