What you need to know about the tax system in 2025
Learn how the 2025 tax brackets work and what it means for your income taxes this season.
British hedge funds delivered $18.9 billion in profits for investors in 2025, marking the fund’s biggest annual dollar gain on record, even as worries about rising inequality plague the U.S. economy.
TCI Fund Management had $77 billion in its coffers as of last month and had a return of 27% last year, according to an annual study conducted by financial firm Edmond de Rothschild Group. For context, the overall S&P 500 index returned 16.4%.
While many investors piled money into superstar stocks that benefit from the AI revolution, TCI also made big bets on other industries. According to various media reports, the company’s two largest shareholders are General Electric Co. and Safran SA, both aerospace companies.
Economists and other experts who monitor financial markets are increasingly concerned about the widening gulf between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of the population. The so-called K-shaped economic trend has been largely driven by strong gains in stocks and other assets in recent years.
As USA TODAY reported in November, one analyst estimates that nearly 90% of households with incomes of $100,000 or more own stocks, compared to just 28% of households with incomes of less than $50,000.
It’s not just concerned about how it’s impacting inequality. It also suggests that if the stock market slumps, much of the spending that has been supporting the economy will recede.
Meanwhile, many low- and middle-income Americans are struggling to pay for things like rent and groceries. “We’re facing the challenge of wealthy people being the ones that are driving up the economy and supporting the inflation that comes with it, while everyone else is struggling,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG US, said in a November interview.
A Jan. 19 analysis by Thorsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo, showed that the bottom 40% of households by income earners are experiencing higher inflation than the top 20%. He showed that the prices of the things they spend the most on – rent, electricity, food, transportation and “other necessities” – are rising faster than discretionary goods.
But for now, many analysts at least expect the stock market to remain strong this year. In December, Deutsche Bank strategists said they expected the S&P 500 index to rise nearly 18%, while Morgan Stanley said they expected it to rise 14%.
