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The richest Americans are capturing an overwhelming share of stock market gains, and the gap is widening fast.

The top 20% of earners in the U.S. now hold a record $49.1 trillion in equities and mutual funds, or roughly 87% of the total, as per an X post from The Kobeissi Letter (1).

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By comparison, the middle 40% hold about $5.9 trillion, while the bottom 40% own just $1.5 trillion.

Since the 2020 pandemic, equity ownership among the top 20% has surged by $29.8 trillion, a 154% increase. Meanwhile, the bottom 80% (which includes the middle 40%) has gained just $4.2 trillion in total.

In other words, the stock market boom since the pandemic hasn’t lifted all boats equally — it has overwhelmingly rewarded those who already owned the most. Here’s why, and what you can do to invest like the wealthy.

The divide isn’t just about income. It’s about ownership.

Higher-income households already held the majority of financial assets heading into the pandemic (2). When aggressive stimulus and near-zero interest rates pushed asset prices higher, those gains disproportionately accrued to households that already owned significant equity.

Meanwhile, households with little or no exposure to the stock market saw far less benefit from the rally, receiving only 3.3% of the total dollar wealth gain in the U.S. during that time.

Research from economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman shows the top 1% owned 38% of U.S. wealth in 2018, while the top 10% owned 77 to 78% — evidence that financial assets have become increasingly concentrated over time (3).

The result is a feedback loop: The more assets you own, the more you benefit when markets rise, the faster your wealth compounds over time.

To see how this plays out, consider a simple example:

If one investor has $10,000 in the market and earns a 10% return, they make $1,000.

But someone with $1 million invested earns $100,000 from the same return.

Both investors saw the same percentage gain, but only one walked away with 100 times more in dollar terms.

Over time, the gap widens even further through compounding.

Using the same example, a $10,000 investment growing at 8% annually becomes about $21,600 after 10 years.

But a $1 million portfolio growing at the same rate grows to more than $2.1 million, adding over $1 million in gains.

The return is identical. The outcomes? Vastly different.

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For investors with larger portfolios, that gap isn’t just a matter of luck. It’s something they actively manage. Small improvements in tax efficiency, asset allocation and timing can translate into thousands, or even millions, in additional gains over time.

High earners don’t leave the difference to chance. They manage it.

Platforms like Range help investors build long-term strategies, from tax optimization to portfolio allocation, which can make a meaningful difference when markets are doing the heavy lifting.

High-income households can work with platforms like Range to reduce their tax burden.

Range is a streamlined, cost-effective way to manage your entire financial life. They offer tax recommendations based on your prior year returns, and can evaluate your investment portfolios for tax loss harvesting opportunities, too.

Beyond taxes, Range also offers investment advisory services. While traditional advisors can charge fees from 0.5% to 2% of your total assets under management (AUM), or between $1,000 to $3,000+ for more comprehensive plans, Range offers flat-fee pricing with 0% AUM fees. That’s a fraction of what you’d pay with a typical CFP.

You can even book a free demo with the Range team after answering a few quick questions about yourself and what you’re looking for from their experts.

But for most Americans, the challenge isn’t optimizing wealth — it’s building it in the first place.

The rise of commission-free trading and mobile platforms has helped bring millions of new participants into the market over the past decade, a trend that accelerated during the pandemic (4).

But while access has improved, outcomes haven’t equalized.

Even though more Americans are investing, the size of those investments still determines who benefits most. Smaller portfolios simply capture less of the upside when markets rise.

Participation alone isn’t enough. Scale matters.

Platforms like Robinhood are designed to make investing simpler and more approachable.

If you prefer a more hands-on approach, you can also buy and sell individual stocks, fractional shares and options (for qualified traders) — backed by 24/7 support. Stocks, ETFs and their options trades are commission-free.

With access to popular ETFs like the Vanguard S&P 500, you can build diversified exposure without needing to pick individual stocks.

The platform also offers both a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, so you can choose the tax strategy that fits your retirement plan.

With its recurring investment feature, you can set up automatic investments of your preferred fractional shares, stocks and ETFs on your own schedule.

Over time, this helps make investing a habit and steadily grows your portfolio.

Earn up to 3% on eligible account transfers to a taxable Robinhood account through March 25th. Risks and terms apply. Robinhood Gold ($5/mo) subscription may apply.

Moby offers expert research and recommendations to help you identify strong, long-term investments backed by advice from former hedge fund analysts.

In four years, and across almost 400 stock picks, their recommendations have beaten the S&P 500 by almost 12% on average. They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Moby’s team spends hundreds of hours sifting through financial news and data to provide you with stock and crypto reports delivered straight to you. Their research keeps you up-to-the-minute on market shifts and can help you reduce the guesswork behind choosing stocks and ETFs.

Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners so that you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes.

The same trend is playing out beyond the stock market.

The top 1% of earners in the U.S. hold 12.7% of real estate wealth, while those in the 80th to 99th income percentile hold 43.7% (5). Altogether, the top 20% control 56.4% of real estate wealth, according to Redfin.

Like stocks, housing has benefited from rising prices and limited supply — which means those who already owned property have seen their wealth grow the fastest.

Once again, ownerships drives outcomes.

If you’re more interested in the long-term earning potential of short-term stays, you can get into this market for a mere $100 minimum. Real estate platform Arrived offers you access to shares of SEC-qualified investments in rental homes and vacation rentals.

Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to fit these properties into your investment portfolio regardless of your income level. Their flexible investment amounts and simplified process allow accredited and non-accredited investors to take advantage of this inflation-hedging asset class without any extra work on your part.

You can view their full list of vetted properties, selected for their income-generating and appreciation potential, and start investing today.

For a limited time, when you open an account and add $1,000 or more, Arrived will credit your account with a 1% match.

If diversifying into multifamily and industrial rentals appeals to you, you could consider investing with Lightstone DIRECT, a new investing platform from the Lightstone Group, one of the largest private real estate companies in the country with over 25,000 multifamily units in its portfolio.

Since they eliminate intermediaries — brokers and crowdfunding middlemen — accredited investors with a minimum investment of $100,000 can gain direct access to institutional-quality multifamily opportunities. This streamlined model can help reduce fees while enhancing transparency and control.

And with Lightstone DIRECT, you invest in single-asset multifamily deals alongside Lightstone — a true partner — as Lightstone puts at least 20% of its own capital into every offering. All of Lightstone’s investment opportunities undergo a rigorous, multi-stage review before being approved by Lightstone’s Principals, including Founder David Lichtenstein.

How it works is simple: Just sign up with your email, and you can schedule a call with a capital formation expert to assess your investment opportunities. From here, all you have to do is verify your details to begin investing.

Founded in 1986, Lightstone has a proven track record of delivering strong risk-adjusted returns across market cycles with a 27.6% historical net IRR and 2.54x historical net equity multiple on realized investments since 2004. All told, Lightstone has $12 billion in assets under management — including in industrial and commercial real estate.

As such, even if multifamily rentals don’t appeal to you, Lightstone could still serve you well as an investment vehicle for other real estate verticals.

Get started today with Lightstone DIRECT and invest alongside experienced professionals with skin in the game.

Wealth in America is tied to assets rather than income, and the market rewards capital. The more you have, the faster it compounds.

For investors, the takeaway isn’t just about timing the market, but about access. Because in today’s economy, the biggest gains aren’t going to those who work more. They’re going to those who own more.

And unless that changes, the gap will continue to widen.

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We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

@KobeissiLetter (1); Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (2); Journal of Economic Perspectives (3); ARC Group (4); Redfin (5)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.