This story cites a study by Fabian Pfeffer, Sheldon Danziger, and Robert Schoeni finding that although U.S. households at all levels had not yet recovered by 2011 the wealth lost during the Great Recession, the losses and gains were unevenly distributed. For instance, the top 5% of households lost 16% of their net worth 2007-2012, while the net worth of the median household fell 43%. In 2013, the richest 5% of American households had 24 times the wealth of the median household, up from less than 17% in 2007. The investigators say: “The collapse of the labor, housing, and stock markets beginning in 2007 created unprecedented challenges for American families. …[T]he declines were greater for less advantaged groups as measured by minority status, education, and pre-recession income and wealth, leading to a substantial rise in wealth inequality in just a few years.”

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