Spending drives about two-thirds of the U.S. economy. That's a fact investors hear all the time.
What gets less press is who's doing the spending.
Moody's Analytics tracks spending by income. Their data shows the top fifth of earners now drive 59 cents of every dollar spent.
That share has never been this high.
Flip it around — the bottom 80% is only behind 41 cents on the dollar. That's the lowest share on record.
Stock prices are up. Home values are up.
And the investors who own both are acting like it — booking trips, buying nice cars, paying for the premium version of everything.
This isn't new. Rich investors have always spent more in raw terms.
But the gap has never been this wide.
TD Economics looked at how wealth breaks down by income at the end of 2025. The top fifth holds about 72% of all household wealth in the country.
That's the biggest chunk since this data was first tracked in 1989 — more than 35 years ago.
So the group doing most of the spending also owns most of the stuff. When stocks go up, they feel richer and spend more.
For investors, that loop has been driving growth. The risk is that this engine runs on just a few parts — and if the top group pulls back for any reason, there's no one behind them to pick up the slack.
Think of it like one stock making up 60% of your holdings. It works great when that stock goes up.
But if it dips, the whole thing feels it. That's what's happening at the macro level.
Brands selling to rich buyers — luxury goods, high-end travel, wealth advisors — have been winning. Brands that need a broad middle class to spend are fighting a headwind.
Keep an eye on luxury retail, premium travel, and wealth services. Those move in step with how well the top earners are doing.
If those slow down, it won't just mean rich investors are cutting back. It'll mean the whole economy is about to feel it.
