Family Wealth in the United States by Age Groups
Nov. 18, 2011
In a Wikipedia entry on wealth in the United States, the following table appears. Notice the difference between median and mean averages. Median -- half above, half below -- is much smaller than mean: average of all families.
The age of the head of the household is relevant because he is the wage earner.
Look at the age group 65 or older: retirees. Net median wealth in 2004 for families age whose head was 65-74 was $190,000. This includes the value of homes. The mean wealth average was almost $700,000. Here, the wealth of the rich was averaged in with everyone else. The rich clearly have the lion's share of the wealth in every age bracket.
