Wealth Gap Widens Between Whites, Minorities

Has the latest recession erased 25 years of progress? The wealth gap between whites and minorities is the widest it’s been in a quarter-century, with white households having 20 times the net worth of Hispanic and black households. ($113,149 for whites in 2009 versus $6,325 for Hispanics and $5,677 for blacks.) In 1995, the wealth ratio was 7 to 1, whites to minority. Hispanics were hardest hit by the recession: Between 2005 and 2009, median wealth fell more than percent from to just over $6,000. The discrepancy is explained, in part, by the fact that many whites derive their wealth from stocks and corporate savings, while minority families are mostly invested in their homes.