Full Citation

Title: The Gilded Age and Beyond: The Persistence of Elite Wealth in American History

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2025

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI: 10.3386/w33355

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PMCID:

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Abstract: Is the top tail of wealth a set of fixed individuals or is there substantial turnover? We estimate upper-tail wealth dynamics during the Gilded Age and beyond, a time of rapid wealth accumulation and concentration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Using various wealth proxies and data tracking tens of millions of individuals, we find that most extremely wealthy individuals drop out of the top tail within their lifetimes. Yet, elite wealth still matters. We find a non-linear association between grandparental wealth and being in the top 1%, such that having a rich grandparent exponentially increases the likelihood of reaching the top 1%. Still, over 90% of the grandchildren of top 1% wealth grandfathers did not achieve that level.

Url: https://www.nber.org/papers/w33355

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Kalsi, Priti; Ward, Zachary

Series Title: NBER Working Paper Series

Publication Number: 33355

Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research

Pages: 1-63

Publisher Location:

Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS USA - Ancestry Full Count Data

Topics: Poverty and Welfare, Work, Family, and Time

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