US Household Wealth Falls Record $5.1T

Combined five-quarter drop is nearly as big as US GDP for 2008
Posted Mar 12, 2009 2:19 PM CDT
US Household Wealth Falls Record $5.1T
A sign standing in the front yard of a house in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Feb. 20, 2009, has been reduced by $95,000.   (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

The wealth of US households fell at a record pace in the last quarter of 2008, as drops in home values and stock prices accelerated, Bloomberg reports. Net worth for households and non-profits fell $5.1 trillion to $51.5 trillion, nearly twice the decline between the second and third quarters. The current net value of household wealth is at the lowest level in 4 years.

Since hitting a peak value of $64.4 trillion five quarters ago, household wealth has fallen steadily for a combined drop of $12.8 trillion, figures from the Federal Reserve showed. That’s almost as big as US GDP in 2008, which was $14.2 trillion. (More economy stories.)

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