In 1929, a study was done that proved that the top 1% of Americans had the same combined income as the bottom 42% of America. The same 1% controlled 30% of bank savings in America while 80% of Americans had no savings at all. These 2 facts show that America in the 1920's had a huge unequal distribution of wealth and it helped contribute to the Great Depression. During the 20's, low wages for many Americans help cause the uneven wealth because many Americans worked in factories or on farms that did not leave them with a lot of money. The few Americans who were rich owned the businesses that many Americans worked in and earned low wages. The economy relied on the rich and the rich reaped the benefits of the billions of dollars America was making. The 1% saw a 75% increase in their wages while the rest of Americans only saw a 9% increase. Henry Ford was making $14 million dollars a year, a ridiculous salary even in 2014, while many Americans were making less than a thousand dollars a year. The average American could not afford everything that a rich person could afford, so they relied on things like credit to get what they wanted, a reason why the consumer society of the 20's help cause the Great Depression.