The Archives

1997

“When Gateses make billions, plenty of people make millions,” Newsweek said of the technology company stock options creating a new economic class. “They’re people whose wealth is the product of the New Economy of ideas.” Despite predictions of broad democratization, the top 1 percent of the population controlled one-third of the country’s wealth. As sites like Robinhood and E*trade have emerged, a recent Gallup poll shows 58 percent of Americans report owning stock; however, the wealth gap continues to grow and individual investors are reeling from recent stock market volatility.