How Obama Destroyed Black Wealth
The nation's first African-American president was a disaster for black wealth.
Angela Walker (3rd-L) and her daughter Nazarin (2nd-L) listen to local officials speaking on home foreclosures at their home in Suitland, MD in 2010. Walker was being threatened with foreclosure and had sought help from Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Alex Wong / Getty Images
The Obama presidency was a disaster for middle-class wealth in the United States. Between 2007 and 2016, the average wealth of the bottom 99 percent dropped by $4,500. Over the same period, the average wealth of the top 1 percent rose by $4.9 million.
This drop hit the housing wealth of African Americans particularly hard. Outside of home equity, black wealth recovered its 2007 level by 2016. But average black home equity was still $16,700 lower.
Much of this decline, we will argue, can be laid at the feet of President Obama. His housing policies led directly to millions of families losing their homes. What’s more, Obama had the power — money, legislative tools, and legal leverage — to sharply ameliorate the foreclosure crisis.
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