Where Did the Money Go? The $79 Trillion Transfer
$79 trillion. That's how much wealth shifted from the bottom 90% to the top 1% since 1975. Vera traces the money through three pipes — pension elimination, healthcare cost-shifting, and the 1982 rule change that turned stock buybacks from market manipulation into corporate America's favorite cash vacuum. The numbers aren't hidden. They just weren't supposed to be read together.
Key Findings
$79T
Wealth transferred from the bottom 90% to the top 1% since 1975
1,094%
CEO pay growth since 1978 — worker pay rose just 14.8%
281:1
CEO-to-worker pay ratio today — up from 21:1 in 1965
$1T/yr
In stock buybacks — up from near zero before the 1982 rule change
