Report- Three Richest Americans Now Own More Wealth Than Bottom Half of US Combined

“The elite ranks of our billionaire class continue to pull apart from the rest of us,” a new Institute for Policy study analysis finds

via Common Dreams – Jake Johnson      “A century ago, a similar anti-inequality upsurge took on America’s vastly unequal distribution of income and wealth and, over the course of little more than a generation, fashioned a much more equal America,” write Chuck Collins and Josh Hoxie. (Image: Institute for Policy Studies)

In the United States, the 400 richest individuals now own more wealth than the bottom 64 percent of the population and the three richest own more wealth than the bottom 50 percent, while pervasive poverty means one in five households have zero or negative net worth.

“All combined, households in the bottom one percent have a combined negative net worth of $196 billion.”
—Billionaire Bonanza

Wells Fargo Directors Face Wrath for Complicity In Bank Corruption

Board of directors dealt low-confidence vote, met with fierce protests in and outside of annual shareholder meeting

Met by fierce protests both inside and out the annual shareholder meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on Tuesday, members of the Wells Fargo board of directors refused to step down despite expressions of outrage and no confidence for their handling of a massive consumer banking scam.

The meeting marked the first for shareholders since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) last September exposed the bank for opening millions of unauthorized accounts, which saddled many customers with fees and blemishes on their credit score, all in the name of meeting unrealistic sales quotas.

The massive scandal and fallout led to the resignation of former CEO John Stumpf and Tuesday’s meeting was expected to be the moment that the directors would be held to account.