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Has there been a $50 trillion wealth transfer to the richest Americans?

Bernie Sanders says vast riches have moved to the wealthiest in the US since the 1970s. Is he right?

Bernie Sanders says a vast amount of wealth - $50 trillion - has moved from 90% of the population to the wealthiest Americans since the 1970s.
The figure comes from a study by Carter Price, a senior mathematician at nonprofit research institute the RAND Corporation.

Tim Harford speaks to Carter to understand how he calculated his figures and what they really mean.

If you鈥檝e seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, email moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Nicolas Barrett
Series producer: Tom Colls
Sound mix: Giles Aspen
Editor: Richard Vadon

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9 minutes

Last on

Sun 16 Nov 2025 11:50GMT
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    Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life