US household wealth dropped in first quarter as tariff concerns hit stocks
June 12 (Reuters) - U.S. household wealth fell at the end of the first quarter, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday, dragged down by a stock market rout that has since reversed course.
The net worth of households and non-profit groups had declined to $169.3 trillion as of March 31, the Fed said in its quarterly U.S. financial accounts report, down from $170.9 trillion as of the end of last year. It was the first decline in household net worth since the third quarter of 2023. A slide in real estate values during the first quarter added to the equities-driven decline.
The S&P 1500 Composite index, which encompasses the vast majority of the U.S. stock market, shed about $2.5 trillion in value in the first three months of 2025 as investors worried that President Donald Trump's tariffs could drive up inflation, send the economy into recession, or do both simultaneously.
The drop in wealth may prove short-lived - the S&P 1500 is currently up about $1.2 trillion on a year-to-date basis and is essentially unchanged since Trump took office for a second time on January 20.
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