People's Net Worth Is Up Since COVID-19: Here's Who Made The Most

A lot of people's net worth has continued to climb since the COVID-19 pandemic, largely driven by stock market gains and an increase in property values. That may be why the rich grew their net worth the most.

What To Know: On Tuesday, KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk shared a chart on X showing household net worth grew across all incomes from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of this year. 

After adjusting for inflation, the top 1% saw the highest net worth increase of 22%. The net worth of those in the 80th to 99th percentile jumped by 12% to 13%, the 60th percentile increased by 9%, the 40th percentile increased by 5% and earners in the 20th percentile saw their net worth climb by 9%. 

Data from the Federal Reserve released earlier this month showed household wealth hit record highs of $154.28 trillion last quarter, fueled by a stock market rally and rebounding property values. That may help explain why those in the top income percentiles are seeing the biggest increase in net worth. 

Households have now fully regained the losses driven by declining real estate values and a bear market in 2022 brought on by rising interest rates in response to high inflation. 

Related Link: Fed Decision Looms: Will Steady Rates Prevail Despite Inflation Pressures?

After falling more than 18% in 2022, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was up more than 12% since the start of the year. But markets have trended lower in recent months. The SPY is down more than 3.5% over the last month and was down 1.18% at last check Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

In 2020, markets tumbled, but quickly recovered and finished the year up about 18%. In 2021, the SPY surged more than 28%. 

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