For over ten years, many people have talked about American decline. They point to divided politics, strained institutions, and constant domestic crises. It seems easy to believe that US power is fading, especially when compared to a rising China and wealthy democratic allies.
A Different Economic Picture Emerges
Yet the economic data tells a different story. When you examine numbers from the G7 and other advanced economies, the situation looks far less clear. The United States stands out among rich nations. It certainly faces problems, but it shows unusual strength in output, productivity, and wealth creation. This resilience becomes most obvious when we compare America to its peers.
Stable Share in a Growing World Economy
Back in 1990, the United States accounted for roughly 26 percent of global gross domestic product. More than three decades later, after many predictions that China would overtake it, the US share remains virtually unchanged at about 25.9 percent. This assumes China's own growth figures are accurate.
This consistency is significant because the global economy is much larger today than at the end of the Cold War. US output alone is estimated to reach $30.62 trillion in 2025.
The contrast with America's closest allies is stark. When the Cold War ended, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and Canada together represented around 32 percent of global GDP. Today, that combined share has fallen to below 14 percent.
This relative contraction reflects weaker productivity growth, demographic pressure, and prolonged underinvestment, particularly in Europe and Japan.
Per-Capita Comparisons Reveal a Stark Divergence
Looking at per-capita data underlines the widening gap. Using information from the International Monetary Fund, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Census Bureau, we see a surprising fact.
Mississippi, the poorest US state by GDP per capita, now outperforms four G7 countries on the same measure. West Virginia, with the second-lowest per capita GDP, surpasses all six non-US G7 members.
Since 2020, US GDP per capita has risen by roughly $20,000. No other G7 economy has matched this gain, even over much longer periods.
Productivity Drives the Transatlantic Gap
Productivity has been a decisive factor in this widening gap. The United States has outpaced the rest of the G7 in productivity growth, both nationally and at the state level. This is driven by technology adoption, capital depth, and labor mobility.
Europe's struggle to keep up has been formally acknowledged at the highest levels. Mario Draghi's 2024 report on European competitiveness, commissioned by the European Commission, issued a stark warning.
The report stated that Europe is losing ground to the US and China in productivity, innovation, and technological scale. Draghi argued that without EU-wide industrial policy, deeper capital-market integration, and large-scale joint investment in digital and green technologies, the continent faces a "slow agony."
This would mean weaker growth, declining industrial capacity, falling global influence, and a shrinking ability to fund social and strategic priorities over time.
Wealth Concentration and Capital Formation
The resilience of the US economy is also reflected in the accumulation of private wealth. According to Altrata's World Ultra Wealth Report 2025, the United States now houses 38 percent of the world's ultra-high-net-worth population. These are individuals worth more than $30 million.
This share is larger than the next ten countries combined. In absolute terms, 192,470 Americans control approximately $22.3 trillion in private wealth.
The pace of accumulation has accelerated rather than slowed. Altrata reports that the number of ultra-wealthy Americans rose by 21 percent in the past year alone.
China, the nearest competitor, holds about $5.9 trillion across 54,020 individuals. This is a fraction of the US total. Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, France, Italy, and India all trail at a considerable distance.
Entrepreneurship Fuels New Wealth Creation
This concentration is not confined to inherited fortunes. The United States continues to generate new wealth through entrepreneurship at a scale unmatched elsewhere.
Consider the world's five richest individuals: Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page. All are American, and all built fortunes rooted in technology platforms that reshaped entire industries.
Their companies function as capital-generating ecosystems. They reinforce US dominance in finance, innovation, and market depth.
Altrata's Billionaire Census 2025 adds another layer. North America's billionaire population rose by 7.8 percent last year to 1,198 individuals. Of these, 1,135 are American.
Their combined wealth now exceeds $13 trillion. This is more than the market capitalization of Apple, Microsoft, and NVIDIA combined.
Why Other Nations Struggle to Keep Pace
By comparison, wealth creation elsewhere has faced structural constraints. China's ultra-wealthy population has continued to grow, but at a slowing pace. Tighter state control and trade restrictions weigh on its technology sector.
Europe crossed the symbolic threshold of 1,000 billionaires for the first time. Yet its growth remains more cautious and institutional. There is less tolerance for the volatility that characterizes US capitalism.
That volatility, often criticized by regulators abroad, has proved central to American dynamism. The same conditions that unsettle other economies allow the US to adapt quickly.
Rapid technological change, market swings, and aggressive capital reallocation have allowed the US to continue generating new entrants at the top end of the wealth spectrum.
In 2024 alone, Altrata found that 10 percent of individuals globally worth between $1 billion and $2 billion dropped below that threshold. Yet in the US, new billionaires replaced them almost immediately.
Acknowledging America's Persistent Challenges
None of this negates America's serious challenges. Income inequality remains the highest in the G7. Infrastructure investment has lagged, and healthcare costs remain structurally high.
Public finances are under sustained strain. The US closed fiscal year 2025 with a federal deficit of roughly $1.8 trillion. This is only marginally lower than the previous year, adding to an already elevated debt burden.
The economy also relies heavily on buoyant equity markets and continued investment in artificial intelligence. Both remain vulnerable to shifts in sentiment and capital flows.
A Complex Global Position
But measured against its peers, the United States has not drifted into economic marginality. Instead, it has pulled further ahead at a time when many allies have struggled to adapt.
Strong allies once amplified American power. Today, the imbalance runs the other way.
Predictions of American decline tend to focus inward. They draw conclusions from political dysfunction alone. A comparative view, grounded in output, productivity, and wealth, suggests something more complex.
It reveals a country whose internal problems coexist with an economic position that remains, by global standards, unusually strong.
