The surge in the US stock market over the past few years has disproportionately benefited wealthier Americans, according to the Federal Reserve and The Wall Street Journal. While nearly all families in the top 10pc owned shares, the proportion of families holding stock declined from 15.1pc in 2010 to 13.8pc in 2013, says the Fed, with the decrease in stock ownership being most pronounced in the bottom half of the income distribution. Between 1989 and 2013, the proportion of all US family wealth owned by the top 3pc rose from 44.8pc to 54.4pc, while the proportion owned by the bottom 90pc fell from 33.2pc to 24.7pc.

(Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, September 29th, 2014