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As reported here, (and here) white/black wealth inequality is worse now in the US than it was under Apartheid South Africa.

The figures brought up during the segment are backed up, too. America's income inequality gap has gotten worse in the past decade — the average white household has a net worth of $110,500, compared to just $6,314 for the average black household, according to the 2011 Census. And per the New York Times, white Americans own 18 times more than black Americans. The gap in apartheid South Africa? 15 times.

Firstly, is this true? If so in terms of what? Income, net worth or land ownership.

Oddthinking
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Diederik
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    How much would somebody like Bill Gates skew these numbers? Should certain people/families be excluded due to extremely high wealth, or the history of the fortune (ie, say the family fortune was made in 1849, when the majority of African-Americans were slaves, and put in trusts, stocks, bonds since then, no "wages" earned)? – Clockwork-Muse Dec 13 '14 at 14:37
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    Are you asking about income (as in the title) or wealth (as in the question); or both? – ChrisW Dec 13 '14 at 16:10
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    The source material isn't consistent. It speaks about income inequality, then net worth and then what I assume is "land ownership". I ideally want an answer for all of the above. – Diederik Dec 13 '14 at 16:57
  • situations are also extremely different, while african people owned all of south africa before white people arrived, they were then fought off, forced to move militarily. while in the US the land was owned by 99.9% whites (ignoring the Indians) and the africans were brought over as slave labor, and so the mindsets of the 2 white groups towards africans where completely different. subjugation vs ownership/subspecies. – Himarm Dec 15 '14 at 14:08
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    " the average white household has a net worth of $110,500" - I would be VERY VERY skeptical of this. Considering the mortgage and student loan debt, the number seems way too high. – user5341 Dec 15 '14 at 21:09
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    Being poor in the US is in no manner the same as being poor in South Africa. Having to live in a trailer is not synonymous to starving to death. – Neil Meyer Dec 16 '14 at 11:48
  • The reference sources for this question are an opinion column, a blog post, and a post in Mic by an intern. The data may be correct (although I doubt it based on the fact that income inequality in South Africa is now the worst in Africa and almost everywhere else in the world), but could benefit from better sources. – Ellie Kesselman May 27 '20 at 12:52
  • Were African-South Africans able to get bank loans in apartheid South Africa? – Andrew Grimm May 29 '20 at 01:01
  • Assuming the numbers are correct: Be careful of the word "average" (presumably the mean). e.g. There's a big difference between the number of black and white billionaires and millionaires which could have a big effect on the numbers but not the reality in practical terms. The median can often be more reflective than the mean. – komodosp May 29 '20 at 14:17
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    Secondly, I'd wonder about their use of "net worth". If you're trying to make a point about income inequality, why quote net worth numbers? Surely you should be quoting annual income! (or purchasing power). For instance, I'd imagine a home-owner or a landlord has a much higher net worth than a renter just because they're paying a mortgage every month instead of rent, even if they can afford similar lifestyles. Significantly more white home-owners & landlords than black ones is cause for concern, no doubt, but not really comparable to Apartheid... – komodosp May 29 '20 at 14:23

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