The Fed’s data on diverging fortunes of the 1% and the 90% in 2021 is further evidence of how the pandemic has only succeeded, in the short term, in boosting the wealth of the wealthiest Americans. The 400 richest people in the US added $4.5 trillion in wealth in 2020, Forbes reported. And as the pandemic’s effects wear on, the gap is growing—posing a starker and starker challenge for president Joe Biden, even as his spending programs attempt to redress this kind of inequality in the country.

📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief

Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.