Catenna, Thursday, March 13, 2025- US household wealth rose to a record high at the end of 2024, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday, due to the stock market rally that increased the stock assets of Americans to $ 56 trillion.
The net worth of households and non-profit groups rose to $169.4 trillion in the fourth quarter of last year, increasing by $160 billion from the previous quarter, which is the slowest quarterly gain in at least two years, as a drop in the value of real estate trimmed gains from equities.
The value of directly and indirectly held equity on the household balance sheet increased by $0.3 trillion to $ 56 trillion in the fourth quarter, while the value of directly and indirectly held debt securities declined by $0.3 trillion. The value of real estate held by households declined by $0.4 trillion to $ 48.1 trillion..
The S&P 1500 Composite index, which encompasses the vast majority of the U.S. stock market, gained 2.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024. It has lost nearly $4 trillion in value since President Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration and about $2.7 trillion since this year began.
Also, the Household debt grew by 3.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024, about the same as the previous few quarters, Home mortgage debt expanded by 2.2% and non mortgage consumer credit grew by 2.6%.
Total domestic nonfinancial debt outstanding was $76.7 trillion in the fourth quarter, of which household debt was $20.2 trillion, nonfinancial business debt was $21.6 trillion, and total government debt was $35.0 trillion.
