
How Much Do the Top 1%, 5%, and 10% Earn in 2025?
Way back in February 2019 I wrote a blog post titled "Are You in the Top 1%, 5%, or 10% of Income Earners?" While digging into the numbers, I also cautioned folks about worrying too much about how their finances stack up against those of other people, especially if they're looking at life through the lens of social media. Almost six years, one pandemic, and a couple of technological leaps later, both the numbers around wealth and the influence of the media have gone up. The financial trends aren't surprising. High earners tend to be good investors. Good investors tend to have the discipline to stick to their plans through regular ups and downs. And despite those ups and downs, the markets continue to grow wealth for investors. But as we're living more and more of our lives online, I think our view of what "wealth" really means and the true value of money is becoming more and more distorted. Let's take a look at the latest data on affluence and try to gain a little clarity on how these trends might affect your thinking about financial planning and living your best life in retirement.