The combined fortunes of the ten richest individuals in the United States jumped by an extraordinary $698 billion over the last year, according to a new report from Oxfam America. The report underscores how deeply intertwined policy decisions, tax systems and social safety nets are with the widening gap in wealth across the country.
Using data from Federal Reserve going back to 1989, the study found that the top 1 % of households have amassed roughly 101 times more wealth than the median household, and an astonishing 987 times the wealth held by households in the bottom 20 % income bracket over the same period. That translates to about $8.35 million gained per household in the 1 %, versus about $83,000 for the average household over 33 years.
The report points sharply to recent legislation — notably the bill passed in May by the Donald Trump administration, dubbed the “one big, beautiful bill” — as among the largest single transfers of wealth upward in decades. The argument is that tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, along with weakened social protections and worker rights, have created structural conditions that favour accumulation at the very top.
At the same time, the Oxfam researchers emphasise that the trend is bipartisan. They contend that both major parties have backed policy reforms over the past four decades that have eroded safety nets, lowered taxes for the affluent and diminished labour power. “Policymakers have been choosing inequality,” said Rebecca Riddell, senior policy lead for economic justice at Oxfam America.
The report also highlights the broader societal consequences of this wealth concentration. Over 40 % of Americans — including nearly half of all children — live in families earning less than twice the national poverty line. And when compared with other higher-income countries in the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD), the US stands out for having the highest rate of relative poverty, one of the worst rates of child poverty and infant mortality, and the second-lowest life expectancy among its peers.
Oxfam’s policy prescription is clear: reform the tax system to impose higher levies on wealth and large corporations; strengthen social safety nets; enforce stronger labour protections; and rebalance power through campaign-finance and antitrust reforms. Riddell said the current moment “seems ripe with opportunity” because many Americans are starting to see the system as one that works only for those at the top.
For political reporters and analysts, this report provides new ammunition in the debate over economic policy, corporate power and wealth inequality under the Trump administration and beyond. The dramatic surge in billionaire wealth during a period when large swaths of the population struggle economically raises questions about whose interests recent policy-making serves, as well as the broader long-term implications for social mobility, democratic governance and economic stability.
In short, while the spectacular gains among the ultra-rich garner attention, the less visible but far more numerous households remain subject to stagnant incomes, reduced protections and diminishing opportunity — a contrast the report argues is both avoidable and politically chosen.
