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Has there been a $50 trillion wealth transfer to the richest Americans?
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15 November 2025
Available for over a year
Bernie Sanders says a vast amount of wealth - $50 trillion - has moved from 90% of the population to the wealthiest Americans since the 1970s.
The figure comes from a study by Carter Price, a senior mathematician at nonprofit research institute the RAND Corporation.
Tim Harford speaks to Carter to understand how he calculated his figures and what they really mean.
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Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Nicolas Barrett
Series producer: Tom Colls
Sound mix: Giles Aspen
Editor: Richard Vadon