UK wealth gap keeps top 10% out of reach for average workers

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UK wealth gap and mobility

Highlights

Resolution Foundation reports that a typical UK worker must save all earnings for 52 years to reach the top 10% wealth threshold of £1.3 million.
Wealth gaps in Britain have widened since 2010, with passive gains from property and investments increasing the divide versus those reliant on wages.
In the U.S., workers would need to save for about 70 years to reach the $4.4 million upper-wealth benchmark, highlighting similarly low wealth mobility.

Resolution Foundation findings on wealth mobility

As reported by Fortune, citing Resolution Foundation, the think tank's October 2025 research says a typical worker in Britain would need to save all earnings for 52 years to move from the middle of the wealth distribution into the richest 10%. The report puts that threshold at £1.3 million, or about $1.7 million, and says the calculation assumes no spending on bills or daily living.

Molly Broome, formerly a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation and the lead author of the report, says wealth gaps in Britain are now so wide that even saving a full-time salary across an entire working life still does not allow a typical employee to reach the top of the wealth ladder. She adds that wealth mobility in Britain is low, with people who start life wealthy tending to remain wealthy, while those from less affluent backgrounds face worsening odds.

The research identifies passive gains as a major driver of the widening divide since 2010. Households that bought property or invested their money have seen their wealth rise sharply, deepening the gap with workers who rely mainly on earnings.

Pressure extends beyond Britain

The same affordability pressures are reflected in the U.S., where workers would need to save for about 70 years to reach upper-wealth thresholds cited in the article. The text says Americans believe they need at least $2.3 million to feel rich, while an Investopedia calculation indicates that surpassing those milestones would require more than $1 million above what most people earn in a lifetime.

With median weekly earnings for full-time workers at $1,232, the article says it would take more than 35 years of full-time work to build $2.3 million in cash, assuming no spending. Reaching a $4.4 million benchmark would take the average U.S. worker nearly 70 years, before inflation or unexpected financial shocks are taken into account.

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