Is the new generation of rich Americans any different from the old one? That is a question which has sparked fierce debate recently, particularly in the wake of the French economist Thomas Piketty’s best-selling book arguing that inequality and inherited wealth are rising.
Indeed, the issue is so emotive that when the Aspen Institute staged its annual Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, which concluded this week, the word “inequality” cropped up in almost every economics debate. And when Robert Reich, the leftwing economist, gave a lecture on the subject – in which he deplored how the wealthy elite is passing privileges on to their children – the auditorium was completely packed even though the attendees at the festival epitomised that wealthy elite.
But if you want to get a different slant on the issue, it is worth looking at an intriguing little survey conducted by US Trust private bank, which was released at the festival. In recent months, the bank polled 680 of the 1.8 million people in America who are defined by the bank as “wealthy” (apparently people who have more than $3m of investable assets).