Who owns America's private businesses?

In the second quarter of 2026, the wealthiest 1% of U.S. households held 53.0% of the value of private businesses, the next 9% held 31.8%, the next 40% held 14.2% and the bottom 50% held 1.0%. These are businesses not traded on a stock exchange, such as family firms, partnerships and property rented out to others, counted at the owners' share of their value. Groups are ranked by net worth: what households own minus what they owe. The Fed estimates each quarter by combining its Financial Accounts with its Survey of Consumer Finances, taken every three years, so the newest quarters are estimates that get revised.

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Source and date

Source
Federal Reserve Board, Distributional Financial Accounts
License
Public domain (Federal Reserve Board; cite the Board as the source)
Data as of
Published

Citation

Chartly. “Who owns America's private businesses?” Chart. Data: Federal Reserve Board, Distributional Financial Accounts, https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/dfa/ (data as of June 30, 2026). https://chart.ly/charts/who-owns-private-businesses (accessed September 27, 2026).

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Households, by wealth Share of private business wealth held by households, %
Top 1% 53
Next 9% 31.8
Next 40% 14.2
Bottom 50% 1