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10 Shocking Facts About Inequality in America

An estimated 41.4 percent of the total U.S. population -- 135 million people -- are either poor or low-income.

1. An estimated 41.4 percent of the total U.S. population — 135 million people — are either poor or low-income.


2. One in four African-American families have a net worth of zero.


3. The median white family has 41 times more wealth than the median black family and 22 times more wealth than the median Latino family. 


4. CEO compensation has grown 940 percent since 1978, while typical worker compensation has risen only 12 percent during that time. 


5. More than 30 percent of black children and over 26 percent of Hispanic kids live in poverty.


6. The top 0.1 percent’s earnings grew 15 times faster than the bottom 90 percent’s earnings between 1979 and 2017. 


7. Three men own as much as the bottom half of Americans. 


8. The richest five percent of Americans own 66 percent of the nation’s wealth. 


9. The richest one percent own more than half of stocks. 


10. U.S. men have three times more than women in retirement savings. 

VIDEO: Robert Reich explains how Income Inequality is destroying America.

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