The first two years following the end of the Great Recession were good ones for America’s wealthy, and not so good for everyone else.

Among the richest 7% of Americans, their mean net worth increased 28% from 2009 to 2011, while the mean net worth of households in the lower 93% dropped by 4%, according to a Pew Research Center report.

For the eight million households in the upper strata, their mean wealth went up from $2,476,244 to $3,173,895.

Meanwhile, the 111 million non-rich households saw their mean wealth drop from $139,896 to $133,817.

Household wealth is defined as the sum of all assets, such as home, car, 401(k), and stocks, minus all debts, such as mortgage, car loans, credit card debt and student loans.

The rich got richer in large part because they invested heavily in the stock market, which rallied during 2009-2011. Everyone else got poorer because most Americans who owned anything of value had their wealth “more heavily concentrated in the value of their home,” the report states, which was not a good thing due to a stagnant housing market.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

An Uneven Recovery, 2009-2011 (Pew Research Center) (pdf)

Economy Recovers for Richest 1%; Income Flat for the other 99% (by Matt Bewig, AllGov)

U.S. Government Redistributes Wealth…to the Rich (by Matt Bewig, AllGov)

Average U.S. Household Has Lost 5% in Annual Income Since Economic “Recovery” Began (by Matt Bewig, AllGov)