Report: Wealth gap has broadened

9:27 PM, Sep 11, 2012   |    comments
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(CNN) - It may be more proof that the middle-class is shrinking.

A new report by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute says the wealthiest Americans' net worth is 288 times more than the average household.

Net worth counts all assets, including real estate holdings, minus debts.

The median household saw its net worth drop to $57,000 in 2010, down from $73,000 in 1983.

The top one percent on the other hand, saw their average wealth grow to $16.4 million, up from $9.6 million, in the same time frame.

While the wealth and income gaps have been expanding for decades, the report shows that the trend was accelerated during the Great Recession.

CNN