U.S. Household Net Worth: Down $11.5 Trillion in 2008
Household net worth—the difference between the value of assets and liabilities—was an estimated $51.5 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2008, $5.1 trillion dollars less than in the preceding quarter. For 2008 as a whole, household net worth fell $11.2 trillion.
Federal government debt surged at an annual rate of 37 percent in the fourth quarter, similar to the third-quarter pace. In 2008, federal government debt rose more than 24 percent, after a 5 percent increase in 2007.