"Pandemic Widened Racial Wealth Disparities Despite Income Growth, Report Finds"

Despite income gains and government financial support during the pandemic, wealth disparities by race grew as the real net worth of white individuals outpaced that of Black and Hispanic individuals, largely due to the outsize gain in financial asset prices, particularly in stocks. Black and Hispanic households have more wealth concentrated in pensions than in stocks and mutual funds, and Black-owned businesses were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. While there have been improvements in employment and wages for Black Americans, Treasury Deputy Secretary Walley Adeyemo suggested that policy interventions may be necessary to address the significant wealth gap between Black and white households in the U.S.