The rich got even richer in 2023.
The top 1% — those with more than $11 million in assets, according to the Federal Reserve — finished the fourth quarter of 2023 with a total of $45.56 trillion in assets, adding more than $2 trillion in that final quarter alone, new Fed data shows.
A large chunk of this boost can be attributed to the nearly $20 trillion this group holds in stocks and mutual funds, which saw a historic rally to cap off the year. The S&P 500 closed out 2023 with more than 24% in gains, the Dow finished near a record high with a 13% climb, and the Nasdaq soared 43%, buoyed by a tech boom with powerhouse stocks like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon.
And with stocks continuing their rally well into the first quarter of 2024, it looks like America’s top earners have reason to feel secure. Strong corporate profits and the hope for interest rate cuts from the central bank are providing a strong foundation for confidence.
But it’s not just investors — U.S. consumer confidence climbed to its highest level since July 2021, the latest University of Michigan Survey of Consumers found. The index hit 79.4 points in March, a 28% year-over-year increase. The biggest driver behind this increase was the growing belief that inflation will continue to soften, despite the fact that inflation came in at 3.2% in February, slightly higher than expected.
The hot stock market performance inspired confidence in those with large holdings, but didn’t move the needle overall, according to survey director Joanne Hsu.
Despite the rosy economic picture painted by the stock market in 2023, the bottom 50% tells a different story. This wealth group finished the year with a total $9.6 trillion in assets, adding $200 billion in the entire year — one-tenth of what the top 1% amassed in a single quarter.
