Wealth Disparity In The Gilded Age

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The Gilded Age of the late 19th-early 20th centuries defined a new era in American society. The wealthy became wealthier, and the new “working class” became stronger. Regrettably, this age of wealth and industry seemed to fade with time, but history has repeated itself. The U.S. is indeed experiencing a “New” Gilded Age, but at a more extreme degree than the last. After the appearance of “robber barons”, the modern era began to outshine its predecessor. Consequently, it holds a much harsher reality, when you closely observe the wealth disparity between classes. For these reasons, the “New” Gilded Age is real. Furthermore, just as it was a hundred years ago, businessmen and companies are at the head of this age. During the Gilded …show more content…
Under the façade of being a land of opportunity, the country hides the immense wealth disparity between the wealthy and middle classes. Between 16,000 families out of hundreds of millions—the top 0.01%—own 5% of the national income, which is much larger than the share was one hundred years prior. During the Gilded Age, it was evident the wealth disparity—but as this new generation commences, the disparity is hidden but much larger than we perceive initially. When Americans were asked what they thought the wealth disparity looked like versus what it turned out to be, the results boasted a cruel truth (“Wealth Inequality in America”). The U.S. is in a worse state of disparity of the Gilded Age, yet it does draw similarities to it. Businessmen being at the top, the middle and lowers classes having close to no money, nothing of that has changed. What has, as the U.S. entered the “New” Gilded Age, is just how much of the wealth belongs to that 0.01%-1%. It has increased to 20% of the nation’s wealth. Only 3.24 million of the population owns $3.25 trillion (i did the math here), making the largest gap the U.S. has seen. Not unlike a century ago, America is experiencing a division between classes that defines this generation as a “Gilded
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