Black-white wealth gap worst on record

Politico - Tthe wealth gap between white and black families now is the largest since the government began tracking the data, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.

White households on average now earn 20 times more than the typical black family and 18 times more than the average Hispanic family, the study found. The disparities are three times the gap that existed just three years ago.

When Pew first began tracking wealth disparity by race in 1984, white families earned 12 times as much as black families on average.

The typical black household had $5,677 in wealth — defined as assets minus debts — in 2009, the typical Hispanic household had $6,325 in wealth and the typical white household had $113,149, Pew found.