Wealth inequality in America, updated for 2026

In 2013, a video on U.S. wealth inequality was posted to YouTube by the user Politizane. (It was one of the best visualization projects for the year.) An updated version for 2026 is now available for your viewing pleasure, with even more inequality and much larger stacks of abstract money allotted to fewer people.

Like the original, the baseline comparison starts with a study that asked respondents how they thought money was distributed across income brackets. Then the researchers asked respondents what they thought the ideal distribution was. The ideal was more even distribution, and the expectation was less even. This sets the stage to show the reality, which is far more money at the top and much larger gaps in 2026.

It’s a challenge to explain distribution, and the strength of the video is that it keeps the spreads relatable at the individual’s level. The money stacks and it’s easy to compare against ideal and expectation. Narration and annotation take you through the big numbers.

There are three more videos coming out this month. (Thanks, Jeff.)