America’s richest are pulling even further ahead. In the past year alone, the 10 wealthiest U.S. billionaires added $698 billion to their fortunes, a surge that underscores the wealth divide in the world’s top economy.

A new report from Oxfam on Monday showed the top 0.1% now control almost a quarter of the U.S. stock market's value, while the bottom half of households hold barely 1%.

All this, while the average American grapples with unaffordable housing, mass layoffs, and SNAP cuts.

Poverty Remains Widespread

Over 40% of Americans are considered poor or low-income, including nearly half of all children. Between 1989-2022, Oxfam’s analysis shows that while executive salaries have continued to climb, nearly a quarter of the U.S. workforce are low-wage workers.

Among the 10 largest Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies, the U.S. also has the highest rate of relative ...