Silicon Valley is richer than ever. Fewer residents are sharing in it.

"With investment returns rising faster than local wages and salaries, the financial disparities threaten to become even more entrenched, furthering demographic shifts already straining the Valley's workforce, schools and health care systems."

"According to the 2026 Silicon Valley Index report, about 70% of households in the region earning more than $200,000 a year collect investment income including earnings from stock dividends, bond interest and other returns. That's compared to less than 1% of those making under $200,000, highlighting how asset ownership is exacerbating the Valley's economic divides."

"It's now common for major tech companies and fledgling start-ups alike in the Valley to grant investors and employees stakes in ownership, such as stocks and other equities, which can grow exponentially. That created a pathway to wealth that we never imagined."

Silicon Valley experiences unprecedented wealth generation, yet economic gains concentrate disproportionately among affluent residents through investment ownership rather than wages. A government worker earning over six figures with his family still lives paycheck to paycheck due to high housing and childcare costs. Investment returns grow faster than local wages, threatening to entrench financial disparities and strain the region's workforce, schools, and healthcare systems. The venture capital model pioneered in Silicon Valley grants investors and employees equity stakes that can grow exponentially. About 70% of households earning over $200,000 annually collect investment income, compared to less than 1% earning under $200,000, demonstrating how asset ownership exacerbates economic divides. Investment gains have more than doubled over the past decade to $95 billion.

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