The gap in the standard of living between Asians near the top and the bottom of the income ladder nearly doubled from 1970 to
2016. Amid rising inequality overall, Asians displaced blacks as the most economically divided major U.S. racial or ethnic group.
The first decade of this century witnessed an historic reduction in global poverty and a near doubling of the number of people who could be considered middle income. But the emergence of a truly global middle class is still far from fruition.