Among the middle class, the debt-income ratio has reached its highest level in 24 years. Additionally, the racial and ethnic disparity in wealth holdings, after stabilizing during most of the 1990s, widened in the years between 1998 and 2001, but then narrowed during the early and mid 2000s. This book presents topical research in the study of the economics of wealth in the 21st century. Topics discussed include recent trends in household wealth in the U.S.; the black-white wealth gap and wealth management.