| Ripple Effect — February 11, 2026
As of early 2026, the top 10% of households own roughly 93% of stocks while the bottom 50% hold only 1%–2% of net worth.
The divergence has been defined by soaring upper-income spending, record CEO pay, and a shrinking middle class. The lower-income groups face inflation, high debt, and precarious employment.
Latest retail numbers show even big spenders are slowing down. Overall, adjusted for inflation, spending dropped below zero.  Retail sales numbers were buoyed by the top tier of high-income. Now, adjusted for inflation, spending is in decline. (Source: Zero Hedge) In 2025, the top 10% of households owned 93% of U.S. stocks, driving wealth concentration to 60-year highs. Those high-income households accounted for nearly 60% of total personal spending by the third quarter of 2025.
Wage disparity and an asset wealth gap define fractious politics in this midterm year. And help explain why both parties appear to be talking only to themselves.
~ Addison P.S. On a macro level, U.S. debt , foreign ownership of stocks, and gold reserves all hit inflection points in late 2025. There’s a regime shift underway that will benefit individual investors who can spot the trends.
On Grey Swan Live! at 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 12, 2026, U.S. Global Investors Frank Holmes will show how those trends are playing out in his portfolio of global ETFs.
Here’s what’s driving the conversation: - Foreign holders were paid a record $292 billion in interest on U.S. Treasurys in Q3 2025 — more than double 2020 levels.
- Foreign investors now hold $9.1 trillion in U.S. debt, four times the amount held just two decades ago.
- Central banks are quietly rebalancing reserves — gold’s share has surged from 13% to 24% since 2021, overtaking the dollar for the first time.
Meanwhile, Washington is betting that crypto assets and stablecoins can create a bigger, more efficient market for U.S. debt, extending the dollar’s reserve-currency status.
But there’s a catch.
As Frank will explain, the banking lobby is pushing hard to lock its monopoly on the US national savings and restrict Dollar 2.0 assets through new regulation.  If you have requests for new guests you’d like to see join us for Grey Swan Live!, or have any questions for our guests, send them here.
How did we get here? Find out in these riveting reads: Demise of the Dollar, Financial Reckoning Day, and Empire of Debt — all three books are now available in their third post-pandemic editions. You might enjoy one or all three. 
(Or… simply pre-order Empire of Debt: We Came, We Saw, We Borrowed, now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble or if you prefer one of these sites: Bookshop.org, Books-A-Million or Target.)
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