The Big Reason Whites Are Richer Than Blacks in America
Inheritance matters a lot more than previously thought. Guess who’s getting the lion’s share.
The lakefront home was built in 1931.
Photographer: John S. EckertThis article is for subscribers only.
The gap between blacks and whites in income is big, but nowhere near as big as the gap in wealth. According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, as of 2013 the median white household had $13 in net wealth for every $1 in net wealth of the median black household. For whites vs. Latinos, the gap was only a bit smaller, $10 vs. $1.
A new study trashes most of the conventional explanations—and solutions—for the wealth gap. It’s called The Asset Value of Whiteness: Understanding the Racial Wealth Gap. It’s by researchers at Brandeis University and a public policy group called Demos. The table of contents says it all: