Hello! Legendary director Martin Scorsese’s 27th feature film, Killers of the Flower Moon, is hitting theaters this weekend — marking his 11th collaboration with Robert De Niro and his 7th with Leonardo DiCaprio. Today we're exploring:
The nation’s wealth
We hope this Chartr email finds you at least a little richer than the first one we sent 4 years ago — according to the latest edition of a triennial survey from the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of US households has soared some 37% from 2019-22 to reach ~$193k.
Meanwhile, the same survey found that median incomes in America have risen a comparatively modest 3% in the same period, making the record-breaking rate of rising riches even more stark, with property and stock market success, stimulus packages, and Covid savings driving the wealth surge.
…Broadly speaking
The median net worth of US families — how much they have in assets after accounting for debt — is up 78% since the first Fed survey in 1989. The median net worth for the top 10% of households hit a whopping $3.79 million, while the 75th-89.9th percentile’s wealth crossed the seven-figure mark for the first time. Conversely, a typical household in the poorest quartile of America reported just ~$3,400 of net wealth.
Interestingly, the nation’s riches are increasingly concentrated in the hands of college graduates. In 1989, separate Fed data showed that college graduates held ~50% of the nation’s wealth — by the end of 2022, that figure had climbed to 73%. On the other hand, younger generations have seen their share of the wealth shrink: in 1989, the under-40s group had 12.9% of total wealth, a figure that's nearly halved since, reaching just 6.6% at the end of last year.
Articles of faith
As the threat of fake news mounts amid escalating global conflicts, it appears that faith in America’s newscasters as veritable information sources is dwindling.
This week, a Gallup poll found that only 32% of Americans say that they would trust the mass media — including newspapers, TV, and radio — either “a great deal” or “a fair amount” to report the news accurately and fairly, matching the all-time low that was set in 2016. In that year, coinciding with a bot-ly contested US election, adults were most likely to have “not very much” trust in the media, with 41% taking this stance.
In 2023, however, it seems that people have become yet more jaded by unreliable journalism: a record-high 39% of US adults report having no trust at all in mass media — 28 percentage points more than just 20 years ago. This marks only the second time, along with last year, that no confidence whatsoever has surpassed having even a middling amount of trust in mass media news reporting.
Market squeeze
For years, the Sunshine State has weathered harsh conditions for growing its famous oranges, as freezes, storms, hurricanes, and plagues have devastated its citrus crops. But, it's Florida’s booming real estate market that’s causing farmers to give up on the orange segment for good.
Last month, Florida overtook New York to become the second most-valuable US housing market at ~$3.81 trillion, with its regions comprising 4 of the top 6 markets that have gained the most in value since the start of the pandemic, including Tampa (+89%) and Miami (+87%). Alongside a surge in residents — Florida had the fastest-growing population of any state last year — rural areas where oranges used to grow are now property hotspots: Hendry County, for example, has lost over 19,000 acres of citrus since 2020, concurrent with a 64% increase in house prices.
Peeling back
Florida’s orange output fell from ~11 million tons in 2003 to 2.38 million tons last year, doubly squeezed by falling acreage and yields. While the deficit has been linked in part to a rise in climate-related disasters — including Hurricane Irma, which caused Florida’s worst crop yield in 70 years — an incurable citrus-greening disease also isn’t helping. Since its detection in 2005, the disease is thought to have reduced Florida’s citrus production by 75%, making grove maintenance increasingly expensive.
This year, stockpiles of US orange juice have shrunk to their lowest level since 1968, causing the price of orange juice futures to triple since early 2022. But, even with prices spiking, using that spare land for condos rather than cartons is looking appealing.
• Stock market roundup: Tesla shares are down ~15% in the last 5 days, United Airlines dropped ~10% on Wednesday, while Netflix shares rose ~16% yesterday.
• SAG-AFTRA has asked its ~160,000 members not to dress up as characters from struck companies for Halloween, ruling out any Oppenheimer hats or Barbie costumes.
• Hitting snooze may actually be good for your health: study shows sleeping for an extra 30 minutes after your alarm can help you avoid sudden jolts out of deep REM sleep.
• Charting how Americans' commuting times have reduced... WFH probably helps.
• Recognize any of these? Check out the 10 "most-Instagrammed" streets in the US.
Trendlines: In an effort to boost subscribers after a tough 2022, Netflix launched its ad-supported tier last November, but how have things been shaking out for the streamer ever since? [Select A, B, or C below.]
(A) 247.2 million
(B) 229.1 million
(C) 214.2 million
