Abstract
Wealth inequality is at the forefront of social issues drawing public concern
and momentum in the United States. Research has shown that social policies
and structures deepen and reinforce economic inequality between Whites
and communities of color.1
Wealth building opportunities also vary based on
the unique ethnic, racial, immigration, and sociopolitical histories of specific
communities of color. The wealth positioning of Asian Pacific Islanders (APIs)
is complex and frequently misunderstood because of broad generalizations
and data challenges. For example, median wealth measures place APIs on par
with Whites. However, this obscures the dramatic wealth gap among API ethnic
communities. The wealthiest APIs hold 168 times the wealth of the bottom 20
percent, a gap that is larger than for other groups. A significantly larger share of
API families have little to no wealth, and wealth inequality among APIs is growing
faster than for any other racial/ethnic group in the U.S.2
More research is needed
to identify barriers to and facilitators of wealth building for APIs in the U.S. with a goal
of enhancing the economic wellbeing of all groups within this diverse community.