Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- PART I INTRODUCTION
- PART II WEALTH DISTRIBUTION
- 3 Who Owns What? The Changing Distribution of Wealth
- 4 The Rich and Their Wealth
- 5 The Rest of the Distribution: The Middle Class and Poor
- 6 Are Americans Getting Richer?
- PART III WEALTH ACCUMULATION
- Appendix: Research Design and Measurement Issues
- References
- Index
4 - The Rich and Their Wealth
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- PART I INTRODUCTION
- PART II WEALTH DISTRIBUTION
- 3 Who Owns What? The Changing Distribution of Wealth
- 4 The Rich and Their Wealth
- 5 The Rest of the Distribution: The Middle Class and Poor
- 6 Are Americans Getting Richer?
- PART III WEALTH ACCUMULATION
- Appendix: Research Design and Measurement Issues
- References
- Index
Summary
Wealth is not without its advantages and the case to the contrary, although it has often been made, has never proved widely persuasive.
(J. K. Galbraith, 1958)In the past, we have known little about the wealthy because data on these families has been scarce at best. Truly wealthy families are not represented well in surveys because there are so few of them and, moreover, many of the wealthy either do not know or are not willing to reveal details about their wealth. Fred Lennon is an example of a wealthy man who prefers not to be noticed. Called “The Shiest Billionaire” by Forbes magazine, Fred Lennon controls 70 percent of the Crawford Fitting Company that, in 1995, had between $700 million and $1 billion in revenues, net profit margins over 10 percent, and no debt (Lane and Johnson 1995). Forbes estimates Lennon's personal worth at $1 billion. However, unlike the more visible rich, such as David Rockefeller or Bill Gates, Fred Lennon's name is not widely recognized. Like many of America's wealthy, Fred Lennon prefers to keep the details of his fortune a secret. According to Forbes, Lennon lives in a modest home in a secluded housing development in Hunting Valley, Ohio. His home is more than a mile from the nearest public road and his mailbox is not labeled with his name. Lennon has also taken great pains in the business that produced his fortune, a tube and valve fitting company, to ensure his anonymity. He has separated the company into dozens of independent firms and scattered them across the country.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Wealth in AmericaTrends in Wealth Inequality, pp. 82 - 106Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000