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Has there been a $50 trillion wealth transfer to the richest Americans?
Bernie Sanders says vast riches have moved to the wealthiest in the US since the 1970s. Is he right?
Bernie Sanders says a vast amount of wealth - $50 trillion - has moved from 90% of the population to the wealthiest Americans since the 1970s.
The figure comes from a study by Carter Price, a senior mathematician at nonprofit research institute the RAND Corporation.
Tim Harford speaks to Carter to understand how he calculated his figures and what they really mean.
If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, email [email protected]
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Nicolas Barrett
Series producer: Tom Colls
Sound mix: Giles Aspen
Editor: Richard Vadon
Last on
Sun 16 Nov 202511:50GMT
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