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Meet The Millionaire Class That Really Runs America

October 23, 2026

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5 min read

The Millionaire Class That Really Runs America

The top 1% of Americans by wealth includes over 3 million people who are not billionaires like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. They are owners of dental practices, HVAC companies, hot dog stands, and garage door repair services. Their combined wealth is an order of magnitude larger than that of the richest 400 Americans, and they account for roughly half of the rise in the top 1% income share over the past few decades. Economists Owen Zidar and Eric Zwick call them "everywhere millionaires," and their new book argues that this group has quietly accumulated enormous economic and political power—while the tax code and regulatory system have been reshaped to protect them.

Who the everywhere millionaires are

An everywhere millionaire is defined as someone with at least $5 million in net worth, with average wealth around $25 million. They are not inheritors in most cases. "The typical folks in the top 1% that are business owners didn't inherit their business," Zwick says. "They either started or bought a business and grew it." The path to this wealth is not the standard credentialed labor market story—top grades, elite college, corporate ladder. Instead, it involves working in a trade or unglamorous industry, learning skills and customer needs, then starting a business later in life.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **Introduction & Episode Premise** - Host Scott Galloway introduces the concept of “everywhere millionaires,” a class of wealthy Americans who own mundane but necessary businesses and may have more influence than celebrity billionaires.
  • 2 (03:03) **Origin Story: Treasury Department Research** - Zidar and Zwick explain how their work at the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Tax Analysis led to discovering the scale of private business wealth.
  • 3 (04:32) **Defining “Everywhere Millionaires”** - Zidar defines the group: over 3 million Americans with at least $5 million in net worth, averaging $25 million, accounting for half the rise of the top 1%.
  • 4 (06:01) **Is This a Good Thing? The American Dream Debate** - The host questions whether the rise of millionaires is positive, given it still reflects concentrated power, but Eric Zwick offers a nuanced take.
  • 5 (08:27) **Examples of Everywhere Millionaire Businesses** - Concrete stories of unglamorous but wildly successful businesses.
  • 6 (10:35) **What Are Pass-Through Businesses?** - Eric Zwick explains the key tax structure behind this wealth.
  • 7 (12:32) **Is the Tax Policy Good?** - The host asks whether tax breaks for pass-throughs are good policy, given they promote entrepreneurship but also widen inequality.

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Guests on this episode

Owen Zidar

Show Notes

Ed Elson is joined by Owen Zidar and Eric Zwick to unpack their research on the “Everywhere Millionaire”. They explain how pass-through businesses work, why the tax code disproportionately benefits their owners, and how policymakers could close some of these loopholes. They also explore how AI is changing entrepreneurship in America and what it all means for the future of the American dream.

Owen Zidar is a Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Eric Zwick is the Joel F. Gemunder Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Their book, The Everywhere Millionaire: Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There, is available now.

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