According to the Wall Street Journal’s interpretation of the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances.

The gist of it:

“Rather than being left behind as all the gains in the economy accrue to billionaires, they have in fact seen bigger wealth gains over the past three years than the top 10% of families. Indeed, the biggest wealth gains between 2019 and 2022 were among the approximately 13 million families in the 80th to 90th percentile of the income distribution. Their median wealth jumped 69% from 2019, adjusted for inflation, to $747,000 in 2022.”

They note, “. . . the increase in net worth for these families has far outpaced inflation.” 

They conclude:

“Rather than being swallowed by the 1%, the economy, according to these numbers, is creating a growing upper middle class. Many people got there by pursuing college degrees, steadily building retirement accounts and purchasing homes. For the most part, they became wealthy slowly, and were well-positioned when pandemic-era stimulus programs boosted asset values.”

As a result of inheriting some of their families’ growing assets, their children may very well end upper middle class too. Especially if they’re college educated.

The unreported on story of course, is the utter lack of social mobility for the other 80%, many of whom are not college graduates. Historically, the default mindset in the (dis)United States has been an assumption that each generation would enjoy a higher quality of life. Now, understandably, parents worry that their young adult children will not enjoy their level of economic security.