September 3, 2026

Bernie Sanders Sounds Alarm on ‘Rigged’ US Economy Amid Growing Wealth Inequality, Says Elon Musk Is Richer Than Half of American Households

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said America’s growing wealth gap shows what a “rigged economy” looks like, pointing to Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. CEO Elon Musk’s fortune as evidence of increasingly concentrated wealth.

Sanders Slams US Wealth Inequality

On Sunday, in a post on X, Sanders criticized the state of the U.S. economy, arguing that wealth inequality has reached levels exceeding those seen during the Gilded Age.

“This is what a rigged economy looks like,” he wrote.

“Today, we have more income and wealth inequality than at any time in American history, worse than the ‘Gilded Age’ of Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Carnegie.”

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Sanders also said that the wealthiest Americans now control a greater share of wealth than most of the country.

“Today, the top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 90%,” he wrote.

The senator then singled out Musk, saying, “one man, Mr. Musk, owns more wealth than the bottom 50% of American households.”

Sanders ended his post by calling for changes to the economic system.

“Not acceptable. We can, and must, create an economy that works for all, not just the few,” he wrote.

This is what a rigged economy looks like:

Today, we have more income and wealth inequality than at any time in American history, worse than the “Gilded Age” of Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Carnegie.

Today, the top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 90% and one man, Mr. Musk,…

— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) August 30, 2026

Wealth Inequality Grows

Earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the “K-shaped” economy had shifted to a “C-economy,” with lower-income workers gaining ground.

However, Navellier & Associates founder and chief investment officer Louis Navellier said, “The wealth divide persists,” arguing that “there is no doubt that the rich are getting richer” while the bottom 50% owned virtually no stocks.

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci also warned of a backlash, saying, “When inequality gets this extreme, history is very clear about what happens next. People show up with pitchforks.”

US Wealth Gap Widened

U.S. wealth inequality widened over the past five decades, with gains concentrated among the richest households.

Data shared by The Kobeissi Letter showed that the real wealth of the top 0.001% surged about 3,500% since 1976, compared with a 200% increase for the average household.

The data also estimated that about 430,000 U.S. households held at least $30 million in net worth, while wealthier households held much of their assets in stocks, mutual funds and private businesses.

Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of households had more debt than assets for nearly two decades before their net worth turned positive after 2020, helped by stimulus payments and rising home values.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

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