A new report from the Federal Reserve highlights just how much America lost in the financial downturn. The median household net worth dropped by 38.8 percent from 2007 to 2010, from $126,400 to $77,300. That's the lowest median net worth has been since 1992. The mean net worth fell 14.7 percent, from $584,600 to $498,800.
The biggest culprit in the loss of wealth was the housing market, which dropped 23 percent over the three years ended in December 2010, according to the Case/Shiller U.S. Home Price Index. That combined with a 14 percent drop in the Standard & Poor's 500 over the same period.
That decline in assets meant that the wealthiest Americans have begun getting most of their income from wages rather than investments. The top 10 percent of Americans by wealth got 46 percent of their wealth from wages in 2007, but that number has risen to 55.8 percent in 2010.
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