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New evidence for the power-law distribution of wealth

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  • Levy, Moshe
  • Solomon, Sorin

Abstract

We present a non-conventional approach for studying the distribution of wealth in society. We analyze data from the 1996 Forbes 400 list of the richest people in the US. Our results confirm that wealth is distributed according to a power law. The measured exponent of the power-law is 1.36. As theoretically predicted, this value is in close agreement with the exponent of the Lévy distribution of stock market fluctuations.

Suggested Citation

  • Levy, Moshe & Solomon, Sorin, 1997. "New evidence for the power-law distribution of wealth," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 242(1), pages 90-94.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:242:y:1997:i:1:p:90-94
    DOI: 10.1016/S0378-4371(97)00217-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Moshe Levy & Sorin Solomon, 1996. "Power Laws Are Logarithmic Boltzmann Laws," International Journal of Modern Physics C (IJMPC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 7(04), pages 595-601.
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