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There are tides
A columnist must write concisely. Concision forced me to omit much from my previous column, in which I discussed the mechanics of white privilege. I got to tell readers privilege can be rolled along from one generation to another, as educational or financial capital, and that, historically, at times when much educational capital has been […]
Agency aims to study transfer of wealth from rural Maryland
STEVENSVILLE — A state agency dedicated to rural development plans to study the transfer of wealth from aging residents in rural areas to their descendants in cities and suburbs. The project is part of a draft report to the General Assembly that leaders of the Rural Maryland Council are discussing Monday in Stevensville. The study […]
Report: About a million joined the millionaire club in 2014
NEW YORK — Nearly a million people became millionaires last year. The number of people worth $1 million or more rose by 920,000 last year, hitting a record 14.6 million. It was the sixth straight year-over-year increase as rising stock prices lifted the value of personal wealth in a few key countries, according to a […]
Fed: American household net worth is at its highest ever
WASHINGTON — A rising stock market and climbing home prices boosted Americans’ net worth to a new high in the first three months of the year. The Federal Reserve said Thursday that the value of Americans’ stock holdings, real estate and other assets rose to $84.9 trillion from $83.3 trillion in the final three months […]
I’ve never been to Spain (or Cleveland) but I really like their co-ops
We need to create jobs that pay people a living wage. That is a baseline premise that should not be controversial. A “living wage” would provide a stable platform from which to push for wealth-building throughout Baltimore — an issue of particular significance in communities of color. So, how would one go about building wealth in the communities outside of […]
Number of millionaires worldwide rises by 2M
Nearly 2 million people around the world became millionaires last year, a year-over-year increase of 15 percent, as surging stock and home markets lifted the fortunes of the wealthy. The increase raised the number of millionaires to a record 13.7 million.
Combined net worth of America’s richest rises
NEW YORK — Life is good for America’s super wealthy. Forbes on Monday released its annual list of the top 400 richest Americans. While most of the top names and rankings didn’t change from a year ago, the majority of the elite club’s members saw their fortunes grow over the past year, helped by strong […]
Average U.S. household far from regaining its wealth
WASHINGTON — The average U.S. household has a long way to go to recover the wealth it lost to the recession, a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis concluded Thursday. The typical household has regained less than half its wealth, the analysis says. A separate Federal Reserve report in March calculated that […]
Gates, Buffett again top Forbes’ billionaires list
NEW YORK — Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates remains the nation’s richest man by far, as the tech and philanthropy giant took the top spot on the Forbes 400 list for the 19th year running, with a net worth of $66 billion. Investor Warren Buffett, the head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., again took second with […]
Conflict between rich, poor strongest in 24 years
WASHINGTON — Tensions between the rich and poor are increasing and at their most intense level in nearly a quarter-century, a new survey shows. Americans now see more social conflict over wealth inequality than over the hot-button topics of immigration, race relations and age. The survey released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center highlights U.S. […]
U.S. household wealth takes biggest hit since 2008
WASHINGTON — Americans’ wealth last summer suffered its biggest quarterly loss in more than two years as stocks, pension funds and home values lost value. At the same time, corporations increased their cash stockpiles to record levels. Household net worth fell 4 percent to $57.4 trillion in the July-September quarter, according to a Federal Reserve […]
Study: Rich get a lot richer, outpace middle class
WASHINGTON — The richest 1 percent of Americans have been getting far richer over the last three decades while the middle class and poor have seen their after-tax household income only crawl up in comparison, according to a government study. After-tax income for the top 1 percent of U.S. households almost tripled, up 275 percent, […]
