Because of the economic system of the United States, there is no limit to how much wealth an individual can accumulate. 

In theory, this means that anyone can accumulate wealth. In practice, it means that at any given time, some Americans have a great deal more wealth than others. According to economist Edward N. Wolff at New York University, in 2007, 1 percent of Americans controlled 42.7 percent of the nation’s financial wealth; the next 19 percent of Americans controlled 50.3 percent of the nation’s wealth; the remaining 80 percent of Americans controlled 7 percent of the nation’s wealth. These statistics make it clear that some Americans have a great deal more wealth than others, but they reveal little about how wealth relates to the exercise of power.

• Because of the economic system of the United States, there is no limit to how much wealth an individual can accumulate. In theory, this means that anyone can accumulate wealth. In practice, it means that at any given time, some Americans have a great deal more wealth than others. According to economist Edward N. Wolff at New York University, in 2007, 1 percent of Americans controlled 42.7 percent of the nation’s financial wealth; the next 19 percent of Americans controlled 50.3 percent of the nation’s wealth; the remaining 80 percent of Americans controlled 7 percent of the nation’s wealth. These statistics make it clear that some Americans have a great deal more wealth than others, but they reveal little about how wealth relates to the exercise of power.
• Wealth, sociologist G. William Domhoff notes, “can be seen as a ‘resource’ that is very useful in exercising power.” While “exercising power” may sound like an abstract idea, all it essentially means is the ability to buy or acquire what one wishes. Greater wealth, however, also potentially allows an individual more choice and more influence. “Wealth also can be useful in shaping the general social environment to the benefit of the wealthy,” writes Domhoff, “whether through hiring public relations firms or donating money for universities, museums, music halls, and art galleries.”