, Columnist
It's Gotten Too Hard to Strike It Rich In America
Many of the traditional ways of accumulating wealth are out of reach.
This used to be a great wealth builder.
Photographer: Laura Buckman/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
In a free-market economy everyone is supposed to have the chance to get rich. The dream of making it big motivates people to take risks, start businesses, stay in school and work hard. Unfortunately, in the U.S., that dream seems to be dying.
There are still plenty of rich people in the U.S., and their wealth is increasing. But people outside that top echelon are having a tougher time breaking in. A 2017 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland found that the probability that a household outside the top 10% made it into the highest tier within 10 years was twice as high during 1984-1994 as it was during 2003-2013.