Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Google Glasses Will Push Info to Your Eyes Forget reaching for your smartphone »

Most Americans Think Rich Are Too Rich

Or at least too much richer than the poor. Study finds 92% prefer Swedish model

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 24, 2010 8:47 AM CDT

(Newser) – Most Americans—even rich ones and Republicans—think too much money is concentrated in the hands of too few, according to a study unearthed by Huffington Post. Researchers found that, across income and ideological groups, people both underestimated how much money is in the hands of the richest and expressed a belief that wealth should be distributed more fairly. People polled, on average, believed the richest 20% controlled 59% of the country's wealth. They actually control 84%.

The people polled by the Harvard Business School researchers—a randomly selected sample representing various income groups—were asked to choose between unlabeled pie charts showing America's distribution of wealth and Sweden's, where the richest 20% control only 36% of the country's wealth. Asked which of the two they'd rather live in, 92% preferred Sweden's wealth distribution.

[Images (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

The study's authors say they observed a surprising amount of consensus. (Shutter Stock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

All demographic groups—even those not usually associated with wealth redistribution such as Republicans and the wealthy—desired a more equal distribution of wealth than the status quo. - Harvard Business School study

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

CLICK BELOW TO VOTE

74%

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Getty Images

Bar Offers Free Boob Job—With a Catch (HuffPost)

Sign That a Really Famous Actress Is Finally Pregnant (Celebuzz)

Why Women (Sometimes) Fake It (The Stir)

My Husband Sleeps With His Mom (Slate)

Crocodile Bites Off Man's Testicles (HuffPost)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 78 comments

Snowleopard

Sep 24, 2010 11:04 PM CDT

Add to those stats above that the bottom half of the population only collectively has 1% of the total wealth. There's something seriously wrong with that, and it's what's driving the slump we're in. There's no consumer demand to drive business growth if the middle class has no money to spend. Take a look at the 50s and 60s in comparison. We had a strongly progressive tax system, and the middle class thrived as a consequence. What we have today is a few powerful groups pulling the strings, making sure that no legislation is past that doesn't predominantly serve their own interests first. This isn't democracy, it's an oligarchy.

rocketrocketusa

Sep 24, 2010 11:43 AM CDT

Someone mentioned revolt earlier. I agree that it will have to come from an independent. The Democrats are incapable of leading and Republicans are the ones who helped consolidate all of this wealth in the first place. It still kills me to this day that some of the most fervent supporters of the Republican party are the ones most hurt by it's policies. They don't know it, nor do they want to. How would you feel if you found out something you believed in and defended your entire adult life was not only a lie, but a scheme designed to manipulate your fears and emotions for the sake of a buck? It's an extremely embarrassing thing to admit. The founding fathers foresaw a hell of a lot of the problems we're having today. They knew what they were creating, they knew how it could be abused, and they tried to tell us how to avoid it all. But we either ignored them, forgot their words, or never even heard them in the first place. The system is done. We failed. Anyone who thinks the majority of congress on either side has the country's best interests in mind is either misguided, uninformed, or willfully ignorant. I openly welcome revolt. I just don't know where to go from here. Any ideas?

ozark

Sep 24, 2010 10:04 AM CDT

The problem is not being rich, but how it's obtained and what does one do with his money,I have read articles where Bill Gates,Oprah and many others give large sums of money away.The problem is when they are selfish or as some say " i got mines you get yours".I am not rich but it gives me great joy knowing i can go out my way to help someone.America was not built by the rich.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Google Glasses Will Push Info to Your Eyes

'Radical' Girl Scouts Back Gays, Abortion: Indiana Rep.

Huffington Post (Source Grid »)

Lifestyle • Money

wealth • Sweden • inequality • Bush tax cuts

More Newser Stories

Congress Is Increasingly Richer Than You

Figures show widening wealth gap, and with it polarization

(NEWSER) - Before he ran for Congress in 1974, Gary Myers was a steel mill worker. His campaign set him back $33,000. Today, Myers’ seat is occupied by Mike Kelly, a wealthy car dealer who married into the Phillips oil fortune. His campaign cost $1.2 million. That contrast is emblematic of the widening wealth gap between members of Congress and their constituents, the Washington Post observes. Between 1984 and 2009, the median net worth of House members more than doubled—from $280,000 to $725,000—even as median household income declined by $100 to $20,500. More»

US Is Worse Than Banana Republics

Yet somehow we need to give the rich tax breaks?

(NEWSER) - It’s tempting to say that the US now has a banana republic-level income inequality, but that’s not fair—to banana republics. “The truth is that Latin America has matured and become more equal,” writes Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times , even as the US has gone the other way. In the 1940s, the top 1% of Argentines controlled roughly 20% of the country’s income, twice what America’s top 1% earned. Since then, we’ve switched places; America’s top 1% now enjoys 24% of its income. More»

Middle Class Morphs Into 'New Poor'

Ever more Americans heading downward

(NEWSER) - At first, it seemed the financial crisis wouldn't leave the US deeply scarred, that's we'd ultimately emerge from it with renewed energy—until Americans stopped to look around and realized that somewhere along the way the middle-class had atrophied, leaving a small super-rich elite and swelling ranks of the poor. Some 40% of Americans who would call themselves middle-class believe they won't be able to maintain that status, Der Spiegel reports. More»

With Health Bill, Obama Ends the 'Age of Reagan'

Marks biggest assault on wealth inequality since the '80s

(NEWSER) - The health care reform bill was the government’s biggest attack on economic inequality in more than 30 years, a period of time that’s seen government policy and market forces consistently push the opposite direction. That’s why Barack Obama fought so hard for it, writes David Leonhardt for the New York Times . “Beyond the health reform’s effect on the medical system, it is the centerpiece of his deliberate effort to end the age of Reagan.” More»

Swedish Hospital Hiring 'TV-Hot' Nurses

Hospital says phrase came from a former patient

(NEWSER) - If you've ever been admitted to the hospital and thought, "Man, these nurses really aren't as attractive as the ones on TV," apparently you should visit Sweden's Stockholm South General. In a recent job advertisement, that hospital recruited nurses who are "motivated," "professional," … and "TV-series hot." The nursing manager claims the hospital simply wanted to "stick out a bit with our advertising campaign" and get some attention—and the plan worked, the Local reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Most Americans Think Rich Are Too Rich