A Pew Research survey from October 2026 found that roughly 6 in 10 Americans, including 4 in 10 Republicans, believe there is too much inequality in the U.S. A growing share from both parties said the economy needs fundamental rebuilding to address this.

Despite the sentiment, political results have lagged. Public support for California's proposed wealth tax on billionaires has waned ahead of the midterms. In 2025, Republicans passed President Donald Trump's sweeping legislation that included tax cuts for the wealthy while cutting safety net programs.

The top 1% saw their share of wealth increase from 31.7% to 32.5% between the first and second quarters of 2026, a jump of over $8.5 trillion. This caps a climb from 30.9% in late 2024 and 27.4% in 1999.

The middle class, the 40% between the bottom half and the top 10%, holds only 28.8% of all wealth despite being a group 40 times larger than the top 1%. Their share has shrunk from 32.9% in 1999 and 30.2% at the end of 2024.

The ultra-wealthy are pulling away even from the rest of the rich. The top 0.1% owns 15% of all wealth, nearly half of all wealth held by the top 1%. Between the first and second quarters of 2026, the top 0.1% captured two-thirds of the gains that went to the top 1%.

Congressional Republicans passed Trump's 2025 tax bill with provisions making most of his 2017 tax cuts permanent, including the historically low top-income tax rate and the lowest corporate tax rate since 1940. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research organization, concluded that policy changes since the start of 2025 have imposed higher costs on everyone except the top 1%.

Recent policy changes have shifted different kinds of costs onto low- and middle-income earners. A provision in Trump's 2025 legislation allowed federal healthcare subsidies through the Affordable Care Act to lapse. Insurers and analysts expect about 5 million people to drop ACA coverage due to higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

Tariffs have affected consumers differently by income level. Economists at the New York Federal Reserve estimated that prices for common consumer goods would have fallen by an average of 1% without tariffs. Instead, they have risen by 2.9%.