It Was All My Doing

As we observed on Thanksgiving Day, average Americans are now by some measures richer than the richest man in the world of 100 years ago.

But how does middle-class America compare to the rest of the world today? It doesn't take that much to be counted in the wealthiest 10% of the world's population. according to The Economist:

If you had $71,560 or more, you would be in the top tenth. If you were lucky enough to own over $744,400 you could count yourself a member of the global 1% that voters everywhere are rebelling against.

NASDAQ graphic from 2015

Here on the SF Peninsula, one could get to $744,000 just by buying a middle-class house in a middle-class suburb 20 years ago and making the debt payments. The mortgage is likely to be under $200,000 by now, and the home can sell for over $1 million.

Persistence, and the good fortune of living close to companies worth $3 trillion, that's all one needs to be in the 1%.