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American Economic Review Vol. 103 No. 3 2013

Family, Education, and Sources of Wealth among the Richest Americans, 1982–2012

Steven N. Kaplan1; Joshua D. Rauh2

1 University of Chicago Booth School of Business, 5807 South Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, IL 60637 and NBER. · 2 Stanford University Graduate School of Business, 655 Knight Way, Stanford, CA 94305 and NBER.

Abstract

We examine characteristics of the 400 wealthiest individuals in the United States over the past three decades as tabulated by Forbes Magazine, and analyze which theories of increasing inequality are most consistent with these data. The people of the Forbes 400 in recent years did not grow up as advantaged as in decades past. They are more likely to have started their businesses and to have grown up upper-middle class, not wealthy. Today's Forbes 400 were able to access education while young, and apply their skills to the most scalable industries: technology, finance, and mass retail. Most of the change occurred by 2001.

DOI
10.1257/aer.103.3.158
Volume
103
Issue
3
Pages
158-162
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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