playing with numbers

Okay, so I was doing some calculations:

In 1998 the nation had about $37.5 trillion in wealth.
In 2007 the nation had about $49 trillion in wealth.
In 2009 the nation had about $54.5 trillion in wealth*.

In 1998 the National Debt was $5.5 trillion.
In 2007 the National Debt was $8.95 trillion.
Today the National Debt is close to 15 trillion, or almost twice the wealth held by the bottom 80% of the nation.

In 1998, the bottom 80% of the nation held 16.6% of the wealth (about $6.23 trillion).
In 2007, the bottom 80% of the nation held 15% of the wealth (about $8.18 trillion).

That means that between 1998 and 2007:

The wealth of the bottom 80% of the country went up $1.12 trillion.
The wealth of the top 20% of the country went up $10.38 trillion (an increase larger than the total holdings of the bottom 80%).

Assuming the same distribution of wealth was held by Americans in 2009 as in 2007**, then between 1998 and 2009:

The wealth of the bottom 80% went up $2.55 trillion.
The wealth of the top 20% went up about $14.45 trillion.

Doesnt that last number look familiar? Just sayin'.


* I use 2007 mainly because of it's commonness in statistics - 2009 numbers are rarer and so involve a bit of assuming on my part here.
** Though it's a good bet that the top 20%'s share got larger.