- When asked about his lucrative stock portfolio, President Donald Trump told reporters, "You know why I'm profiting? Because the stock market's going up, everybody's profiting."
- But not everybody is sharing in the market's upside.
- The top 1% own about 50% of corporate equities and mutual fund shares, according to the most recent Federal Reserve data. The bottom 50% of households collectively hold just 1% of that stock and mutual fund wealth.
"You know why I'm profiting? Because the stock market's going up, everybody's profiting," Trump said to reporters Wednesday.
To be sure, in the first six months of the year, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 8.9%, marking its best first-half performance since 2021. The S&P 500 rose 9.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 12.8%. The small-cap Russell 2000 surged nearly 22%, notching its best first-half performance since 1991.
But not everybody shares in the market's upside.
Stock wealth has largely
accrued to the richest U.S. households, research shows.
According to a Gallup Poll often cited by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent,
38% of American households have no exposure to equities at all.
Of those who do invest, stock ownership is heavily concentrated among the nation's highest earners.
As of the first quarter of 2026, the top 1% owned half of corporate equities and mutual fund shares, or about $27.64 trillion, according to the most recent
Federal Reserve data, while the top 10% of Americans hold more than 87%.
Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of households collectively held just 1% — or $590 billion — of that stock and mutual fund wealth.
"Half of Americans effectively own no stocks," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's. And "to be in the top 1%, you need to make over $750,000 annually."
Those dynamics, along with the recent bull market, have exacerbated the wealth gap, he said.
"The surging stock market is enormously beneficial to the finances of the well to do, but means little for most Americans," said Zandi.
"We need to get capital into the pockets of every child born so that they can compound in the upside of
SpaceX, in Alphabet, in all of our great companies, like everybody else in the market," Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner, who helped spearhead the investing accounts, said during a June 12 appearance on CNBC's "Halftime Report."
According to a
new analysis by consulting firm McKinsey, Trump Accounts could potentially generate $80 billion to more than $900 billion in long-term asset accumulation for lower-wealth households over the next decade. However, participation, contribution patterns and sustained engagement are key factors in those outcomes.<small>Source: CNBC</small>
Business
Trump says 'everybody's profiting' from recent market rallies — but it’s mostly the 1%
CNBC
July 02, 2026
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