ABSTRACT
Economists differentiate between wealth, a stock of value such as a house or stock, and income, a flow of value over time, such as a salary or interest payment. The most comprehensive survey on wealth holdings is conducted by the US Federal Reserve, a quasi-independent government body that acts as the country's central bank. Wealth has been surveyed on a sporadic basis by the US Census Bureau. Such data were collected on a regular basis only between 1850 and 1890 and then not again until 1984, 1988, 1991, and 1993 in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This chapter explains that extraordinarily rich usually are well-known individuals about whom information can be obtained from public sources. Based on stock-ownership records, media coverage, and independent investigation, Forbes and Fortune magazines each estimates wealth holdings for a select number of these individuals.
