AMNA NAWAZ: The markets may have finished# this day on a mixed note, but if you have## been watching in recent months, you will have# noticed the markets have continued to be strong,## despite continuing concerns around# the shutdown, tariffs, and inflation.

In fact, the broadest index, the S&P 500, and# the tech-heavy Nasdaq have set records more## than 30 times this year.

And there's# other data that suggests the economy## is still chugging along at a steady clip.# But that is only part of what's happening.

As our economics correspondent Paul Solman# reports, for the vast majority of Americans,## this economy is landing# very differently right now.

MARK ZUCKERBERG (CEO, Meta):# This is Meta Ray-Ban Display.

PAUL SOLMAN: You don't have to look far to get a## clear view of those at the# tippy top of the economy.

MARK ZUCKERBERG: The first A.I.# glasses with a high-resolution display.

PAUL SOLMAN: Mark Zuckerberg's Meta paying# $250 million to recruit an artificial## intelligence researcher, a proposed $1 trillion# compensation package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk,## former Google head Eric Schmidt's purchase of a# 123-room $110 million L.A.

mansion to host events.

But well below the hyper-rich, millions# of other Americans are also prospering.## As evidence, 56 percent of luxury consumers,# according to Saks Global, plan to spend the## same or more this season compared to last,# up substantially from just last spring.

MISTY BELLES, Vice President of Global# Public Relations, Virtuoso: Luxury## travel continues to .. PAUL SOLMAN: Misty Belles of luxury# travel network Virtuoso sees the same.

MISTY BELLES: When we look at# our fall bookings for this year,## we are up 38 percent year over year.

PAUL MAC GARVEY, Retiree: If I wanted to go buy a# Rolls-Royce, I could do it right now and pay cash.

PAUL SOLMAN: Paul Mac Garvey and# his wife aren't big travelers,## but, comfortably retired, they are insulated.

PAUL MAC GARVEY: I do a net worth survey# on the Fidelity Web site every week, and## it just does nothing but go up.

All# right, my net worth keeps going up.

PAUL SOLMAN: John (ph), a retired# engineer, is also pretty comfortable.

JOHN, Retiree: I own my own house.

I own a couple# of cars.

I have everything that I really want.

PAUL SOLMAN: Problem is, even when you include# these upper-middle-income Americans among the## prosperous, that still leaves a full# 80 percent who are feeling squeezed,## like geologist Timothy Runkle.

TIMOTHY RUNKLE, Geologist: It doesn't really# matter what I'm doing in my career or what other## jobs that I'm pursuing.

It just doesn't keep up# with what the necessities of life are right now.

PAUL SOLMAN: Donna (ph) is in sales.

DONNA, Employed in Sales: I .. PAUL SOLMAN: Joseph Williamson,# a city planner in Collinsville,## Illinois, proud home of the# world's largest ketchup bottle.

JOSEPH WILLIAMSON, City Planner: Honestly,# right now, as we speak, $200 to my name, maybe.

PAUL SOLMAN: Fiori Berhane, assistant professor.

FIORI BERHANE, Assistant Professor: I# have student loa.. PAUL SOLMAN: Emily Zerrenner is a librarian.

EMILY ZERRENNER, Librarian: I'm# finding myself needing to use the## by-now, pay-later things for bigger# purchases, such as like car repairs.

PAUL SOLMAN: One way to depict# the increasing split between the## top 20 percent and the rest of Americans,# says economist Mark Zandi, the letter K. MARK ZANDI, Chief Economist, Moody's# Analytics: The folks at the top part## of the income and wealth distribution are# doing fabulously.. folks at the bottom part of the K, lower-,# middle-income households, they're struggling.

PAUL SOLMAN: Heather Long wrote about the# K-shaped economy in The Washington Post.

HEATHER LONG, Navy Federal Credit Union: This# economy right now is being driven by spending## from the top 20 percent of Americans.

So# that dividing line is roughly $175,000.

Families that are above that mark, they're living# la vida loca.

You know, they're out there.

They're## spending on birthday parties and lavish weddings# and big trips abroad and growing their spending## month after month.

And the rest of America, the# bottom 80 percent, they're cautious right now.

MARK ZANDI: Their incomes having# kept pace with inflation.

They're## encumbered with debt.

They don't have any assets.

PAUL SOLMAN: Assets to benefit from.

MARK ZANDI: The stock market is booming.

We have# record valuations.

All that accrues to the fol.. with big stock portfolios, and that's in# the top 10 percent of the distribution.## They own their own home.

They own bonds# They own crypto.

They own lots of stuff.

PAUL SOLMAN: Of course, American wealth inequality# is hardly new.

Point is, it's getting worse.

HEATHER LONG: You can go back to kind of# the early '90s, and the top 10 percent, the## wealthiest Americans, they would account# for 35 percent of overall spending.

So## a pretty good chunk was reliant on# the top.

But, today, that number is## basically 50 percent.

Half of spending is# now dependent on just the top 10 percent.

PAUL SOLMAN: That's households# making about $250,000 or more.

The economy is more reliant on them than# ever.

Official consumer spending is rising,## thanks to folks like Belles'# high-end travel customers.

MISTY BELLES: Suites are still selling# very well at hotels.

Junior suites,## anything that's in the upper# category there, business class,## premium economy, all of those upper# categories continue to hold strong.

PAUL SOLMAN: Washington, D.C., realtor Michael# Rankin specializes in the luxury market.

MICHAEL RANKIN, Sotheby's International# Realty: It is very strong and very robust.## They have been buying and spending a lot of money.

PAUL SOLMAN: In fact, his# challenge is there aren't## enough houses for his high-end clients to buy.

MICHAEL RANKIN: What we have now is# a scarcity of supply of the super## high end, and our marketplace is $7# million, $10 million, $15 million,## even higher.

I have active buyers and clients# who are looking for something very special,## very well renovated, very well presented.# And there's just a scarcity of supply.

PAUL SOLMAN: But while the well-off are fueling# the economy, so many others are pinching pennies,## looking to spend less on just the basics# at discount stores like Dollar General,## which recently reported an increase# in middle- and higher-income shoppers.

And budget grosser Aldi is# America's fastest growing retailer.

JOSEPH WILLIAMSON: I'm spending sometimes# upwards of $150, $200 a week on groceries.

PAUL SOLMAN: Joe Williamson's pay is# barely keeping up with prices at the store,## like so many Americans.

EMILY ZERRENNER: I used to be# a person who would pay off my## credit card every single month.# I wouldn't keep a balance at all,## but I have had to start keeping a balance,# and I'm not able to pay it off every month.

PAUL SOLMAN: This summer, Jessica Cuevas (ph)# and her husband moved their family to Mexico## because they could no longer afford to live in# Chicago on her husband's $67,000-a-year salary.

JESSICA CUEVAS, Expat: Rent is about 1,000# U.S.

dollars.

In Chicago, where we're from,## it could be anywhere between $25,000 to $5,000.

PAUL SOLMAN: And Cuevas can work too# since she can now afford day care.

JESSICA CUEVAS: That alone is about# $150 a month, compared to $1,400.

PAUL SOLMAN: Now the K bifurcation# isn't just among households.

HEATHER LONG: There's also a K-shaped situation## going on the business side.

And# you can look at the stock market,## and it's being hugely driven by a handful of# superstar tech companies that are involved## in the A.I.

boom.

And they're just in a totally# different league right now than everybody else.

PAUL SOLMAN: And they, it turns# out, are driving the economy.

HEATHER LONG: In the first half of 2025, spending# on A.I.

was as big of a contributor to growth in## this country as consumption.

There's a lot# of risk to an economy that is so heavily## reliant on this A.I.

boom and the rich.

And# there could be some pullback.

If your chair## has fewer and fewer legs to stand on,# it's a lot easier to knock that over.

PAUL SOLMAN: Meanwhile, the A.I.

boom means# more data centers devouring more energy,## driving up electricity prices for# the already strapped 80 percent.

JOSEPH WILLIAMSON: Everybody around me has either## doubled or tripled in their power# expenses, and we can't afford it.

PAUL SOLMAN: Not to mention rising rents as# investors buy up presidential real estate.

FIORI BERHANE: My rent is going to# continue rising, and my pay isn't.

PAUL SOLMAN: So why not buy instead?

EMILY ZERRENNER: I do not feel like I could ever## buy a house.

That's not even# on my radar, quite honestly.

PAUL SOLMAN: Just 25 percent# of Americans these days feel## they have a good chance of improving# their standard of living, a record low.

Why do you suppose there hasn't been a# revolt from the bottom, the pitchforks,## in one cliched version of the revolt?

MARK ZANDI: There's clearly a lot of skewing# of the income and wealth distribution,## but times historically when you have seen, as# you say, the pitchforks coming out, the skewing## is much more pronounced.

We're not living in# Paris, France, circa late 1700s, for example.

PAUL SOLMAN: That is even the bottom arm of the K. MARK ZANDI: Making 50, 75 K a year here# in the U.S., your standard of living,## just given the improvements in# technologies and everything else,## is probably as good as the Hearsts were back# 100 years ago when they were in their castle.

PAUL SOLMAN: A castle without air conditioning,# TV, the Internet, access to modern medicine,## and so much we now take for granted.

On the# other hand, that man's home was a castle.

For the "PBS News Hour," Paul Solman.