Weak data on the wealth holdings of top wealth holders is one of the primary reasons that accurate estimates of the size distribution of wealth in the United States have been difficult to obtain. The wealthy are generally underrepresented in surveys of household wealth, and those who are included are often unfamiliar with or unwilling to reveal the true size of their asset holdings. In surveys, unlike in in-depth interviews (such as those to which Schervish refers in the quote at the beginning of this chapter), the wealthy are unlikely to deliberately misrepresent themselves. Yet because the wealthy own the bulk of household assets in the United States, estimates of wealth distribution derived from surveys alone may, indeed, be misleading. My objective in this book is to synthesize data from various sources to present a detailed picture of household wealth distribution from 1962 to 1995 and to draw on a simulation model that allows me to investigate the processes that create this distribution. Lenski observed that it is difficult to measure the degree of inequality in any society because precise, quantitative data are difficult to obtain (Lenski 1966:Chap. 1). Lenski was convinced, however, that techniques such as using multiple data sources would make meaningful studies of inequality possible.