U.S. wealth inequality is the highest it has been in nearly four decades, according to federal data, as the economy under the Trump administration appears to increasingly favor the rich.
As of late 2025, the top 1 percent of households held 31.7 percent of wealth, the highest share on record since the Federal Reserve began tracking the figure in 1989.
Managing to grow those saved earnings into even a million is plenty rich by my standards. The aspiration has never been to become a billionaire or even whatever “CEO rich” means.
Also, managing your finances is much more than just investing. The markets are useless if you’ve got nothing left over to put in there. Most people needlessly waste huge amounts of money all the time without even knowing it.
Idk seems like you’re confusing people being unable to afford groceries with having enough to invest and make meaningful amounts.
If you investing a few grand a year, which is hard to do for a majority of Americans, that isn’t going to be that much in even 10 years.
The market also isn’t going to just rip forever as it has been and in fact is very much due for course correction. You could be telling people to buy at the very top of the market and then it will all come crashing down.
It’s all on paper if you don’t take profit and many years were needed for the market to recover from 08.
I know many people that struggle to meet their basic needs. I actually could be investing, but I have moral qualms about supporting or profiting from almost any of the companies in those index funds-- certainly the ones that make real returns.
One Neat Trick