THE 0.0003 PERCENT: SHORT-RUN DYNAMICS OF EXTREME WEALTH IN AMERICA

This paper examines short-run dynamics and changing sources of wealth among the Forbes 400 annual list of wealthiest individuals in the United States, before and after the 2008-2009 financial crisis. We analyze the interaction of growth of wealth with education, age, and being self-made versus inheriting wealth. We find evidence of conditional convergence of wealth within the group. The wealth of the self-made grew faster than their counterparts, though less so after the crisis. Those with advanced degrees had higher pre-crisis growth of wealth than those without such degrees. Controlling for these characteristics, age was not a factor in wealth accumulation. Mobility in and out of the group was higher pre-crisis.