Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MONEY
Who Has How Much and Why
By
Andrew Hacker
Published by Simon&Schuster/1997
ISBN 0-684-19646-8 /0-684-84662-4 paperback
254 pages
In New Yorks Chenango County, the deputy sheriff starts at $16,000 a year. A Vermont radio
news director gets $17,000, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an airline reservationist makes
$14,000. How do Americans get by on so little?
Three Nations: Rich America, Middle Class America, and Poor America
There are more young couples living together today than in any time in America. Young people
share quarters with one or more roommates. Those from affluent homes receive subsidies from
parents. A large number continue to live at home. People are having less children.
In 1970 a single income would suffice for a full household. More Americans own two cars instead
of one, more Americans travel to Europe than in 1970, and today the laser printers, multiple CD
changers- even coffee costs more than the days of typewriters and turntables. More Americans
are ordering takeout food and eating out than in 1970.
In 1995, the threshold for one person living alone was $7,763 or about $150 a week. A single
parent with two children came to $12,278 or $236 a week. One would be more likely to get by in a
rural than urban area, where being poor is less evident, and there is not much available for
purchase.
Americas Widows
Among the aged poor, women outnumber men by 3 to 1. They are mostly widows living alone
who make do on reduced pensions.
Power Couples
Two-income homes are now found in all economic levels. Even if the husband makes $100,000 a
year, the wife still works in about 60% of all marriages. The category includes $20 million-dollar
couple Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, the Clintons $316,074, many CEO couples, and
Washingtons well-paid couples.
The 68,064 households have 184,889 family members, or enough people to fill all the
seats at Denvers Mile High Stadium, Chicagos Soldier Field, and Bostons Fenway
Park.
88% of the rich include married couples, with most children living on their own, and 961
listed their parents as dependents.
Of the 10,509 people who have incomes of $1 million or more, about one in seven is over
seventy years of age.
3,454 of the rich send alimony to a previous spouse. Many prefer to wrap up divorces
with a single huge settlement.
The rich pay more in medical fees because they can employ round-the-clock nurses for
an elderly relative and can buy medical equipment for these nurses to use at their homes.
Even the rich file for unemployment compensation benefits, maybe for a still dependent
son who cant seem to hold a job, or even a television star who was paid $2 million for 23
weeks of a series, and is entitled to benefits for the remaining 29 weeks of the year.
Heads must have turned at the unemployment office when she waited in line like
everyone else.
a propitious year. There is a mix of people in this stratum. From athletes and corporate chairmen,
to movie stars and litigation lawyers, golfers in Palm Springs and party goers in Palm Beach.
$18.5 billion
$15.0 billion
$7.5 billion
$7.2 billion
$6.0 billion
$5.3 billion
$4.0 billion
$3.7 billion
$3.4 billion
$3.4 billion
$3.3 billion
$3.2 billion
$3.2 billion
$3.2 billion
$2.9 billion
$2.5 billion
$2.5 billion
$2.2 billion
$2.1 billion
founded 1962
founded 1802
founded 1911
founded 1870
founded 1922
founded 1873
founded 1930s
founded 1898
founded 1865
founded 1876
founded 1902
$24.8 billion
$13.9 billion
$12.0 billion
$9.9 billion
$9.0 billion
$8.6 billion
$8.1 billion
$8.0 billion
$7.9 billion
$7.7 billion
$6.0 billion
Mellon (banking)
founded 1869 $5.8 billion
Lauder (cosmetics)
founded 1946 $4.1 billion
Scripps (newspapers) founded 1870s $3.6 billion
Upjohn (pharmaceuticals) founded 1885 $3.2 billion
Ziff (publishing)
founded 1927 $3.0 billion
Smith (machinery)
founded 1889 $2.8 billion
Davis (groceries)
founded 1925 $2.3 billion
Chandler (newspapers) founded 1894 $2.1 billion
Gund (food, banking) founded 1919 $2.1 billion
Wealthy Women
Black Money
Immigrants
With regards to geography, California now has more rich people than New York, and in terms of
age, the youngest person to make it on his own is Michael Dell who made his fortune by age 26.
Company
Stock Owned
Average Compensation*
Philip Knight
William Gates
Leslie Wexner
Michael Dell
Charles Schwab
Frederick Smith
Bernard Marcus
Nike
Microsoft
Limited
Dell Computer
Charles Schwab
Federal Express
Home Depot
33.9%
23.9%
23.1%
21.3%
20.0%
8.5%
3.1%
$1,378,000
$370,000
$2,036,000
$573,000
$4,457,000
$884,000
$2,591,000
William Wrigley
Washington Post
Marriott
New York Times
Anheuser-Busch
17.8%
16.0%
7.5%
7.1%
0.5%
$1,457,000
$606,000
$1,482,000
$1,419,000
$3,891,000
H.J. Heinz
Travelers Group
Coca-Cola
Disney
1.6%
1.3%
0.7%
0.6%
$23,829,000
$39,935,000
$11,917,000
$46,549,000
Founders Heirs
William Wrigley
Donald Graham
Willard Marriott
Arthur O. Sulzberger
August Busch III
Employed Executives
Anthony OReilly
Sanford Weil
Roberto Goizueta
Michael Eisner
John Welch
John Smith
General Electric
General Motors
0.03%
0.01%
$9,080,000
$1,988,000
Black women have fared better than their black brothers in terms of educational
achievement and median income.
From 1975 to 1995 the median income ratio of blacks to whites actually decreased.
Blacks earned $605 for very white wage-earners $1000 in 1975, and in 1995 blacks
earned only $577 against the white workers $1,000.
Black and white women tend to mix more easily at workplaces than black and white men.
The occupations where there is most parity to whites are in retail, banking, aircraft
mechanics, education, hairdressing, and entertainment.
Americans of European ancestry or in the general term, whites, have generally higher
median incomes with Russians earning the highest at $45,778 and French being the
lowest at $30,696.
Among Americans with native origins from other countries, India and the Philippines hold
the higher median incomes at $44,696 and $43,780 respectively. Cambodians make the
least at $18,837.
As consumers Americans have benefited greatly from immigrant labor. Office cleaning,
taxi rides, meals, the bargain sweater from GAP, and childcare offered by immigrants
have kept prices of many goods and services down.
Immigrants hold lower-paying jobs and are willing to do so despite the fact many have
college degrees from back home, and your taxi driver may have been an engineer in
Pakistan, or your laundry lady could have taught high school back in Manila.
Were it not for Indian-run motels, a lot of Americans would be sleeping in their cars.
Were it not for Asian immigrants, CalTech and MIT would have empty seats in their
classrooms.
Immigrant Chairmen
Samir Gibara
Malik Hasan
Mory Ejabat
Ray Irani
Roberto Goizueta
Egypt
India
Iran
Lebanon
Cuba
Goodyear
Health Systems International
Ascend Communications
Occidental Petroleum
Coca-Cola
60.5%
13.1%
18.9%
6.6%
The main reasons for these projections: Whites and Asians are having fewer kids to replace their
populations.
The ratio of median income for women to men is pulled down because of the large
number of non-working wives and many who choose to work only part-time.
Fewer Americans are getting married today than ever. Many are postponing marriage
until they are older, and more marriages are ending in divorce. Men are more inclined to
remarry, but women who divorce more likely stay single.
Many young Americans either live alone, or share rent with a roommate or live-in partner.
They are becoming part of the fast-growing group of DINKS or Double Income No Kids
bunch. They are comprised of both straight and gay couples.
Women have higher expectations from a partner today, especially black women.
Women have to find a balance between work and family that is never required of men.
Most successful women have to choose between work and family, while successful men
never have to make that choice.