The Myth of the Plutocrats

Most members of the upper-class do not stay there very long. Treasury Department data tracked 400 individuals with the highest incomes from 1992 to 2009. The results show high levels of turnover among the highest-income Americans.

Seventy-one percent of taxpayers who were among the 400 highest-income Americans in one year did not return to the top 400 again over the 17 year time period. Just 2 percent, or 87 taxpayers, remained among the top 400 highest-income returns for ten years or more.

The minimum adjusted gross income to be in the top 400 income tax returns peaked in 2007, at $139 million. Because of the financial crisis and ensuing recession, the cutoff fell 44 percent over the next two years, to $77 million in 2009.

Contrary to what some believe, there is not an elite upper-class that controls the economy year-after-year.