Smoke and Mirrors: Rise in Black Net Worth Is Not What It Seems

By Bria Overs, Word in Black

Black wealth is rising, but it is still way behind other ethnic groups. Barriers to creating wealth help the racial wealth gap persist.

Black net worths are on the rise — for now. A recent report from the Federal Reserve found that in the last three years, between 2019 and 2022, Black wealth rose by 61%. It’s the largest growth of any other racial group. Despite this increase, it does not reflect the broader reality of the persisting racial wealth gap.

“That 61% increase seems so large because the actual wealth that Black families had in 2019 was so small compared to white households,” Michelle Holder, associate professor of economics at John Jay College in the City University of New York (CUNY), says. “When you’re starting with a smaller base, increases can get magnified.”

Median Black wealth was around $28,000 in 2019 and moved closer to $45,000 in 2022. At the same time, white wealth increased by 31%, growing from $218,000 to $285,000. Holder says this comparison should not take away from the progress, but looking at the percentage alone can be “a little misleading.”

“I’d say the numbers are a kind of mask,” she tells Word in Black. “The Black community didn’t really experience true wealth building that the numbers might suggest it did. I think what they experienced was a rise in the value of an asset that almost half of Black families have compared to about 75% of white families.”

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