The highest-income fifth of U.S. households earned 59.1% of all income, while the richest earned 88.9% of all wealth. A large gap between rich and poor is often associated with low social mobility, which contradicts the American ideal of equal opportunity. Levels of income inequality are higher than they have been in almost a century, with the richest 1% holding a share of national income exceeding 20% ​​(Wilhelm). There are numerous factors that influence income inequality, some of which will be discussed in this paper. Growing income inequality is caused by differences in life expectancy, rapidly rising incomes of the top 5%, social trends, and changes in the global economy. Changes in life expectancy and its changes are a major cause of growing income inequality. The length of a person's life, as well as the quality of their health, can have an important and enormous impact on their income and social mobility. The life expectancy of the poorest 10% is increasing at only half the rate of growth of the life expectancy of the richest 10% (Belsie). This shows that improvements in medicine benefit the rich more than the poor. The less wealthy have reduced access to good medical insurance and cannot afford more expensive, quality medical care. The poor are less likely to invest in healthy food and exercise, reducing life expectancy and overall health. These changes result in a cycle that causes the poor to be less healthy and the less healthy to become increasingly poorer. On the other hand, the rich have different variations in habits, education and environment, which can influence life expectancy, often positively for the richest. The top 10%, and even more so the top 1%, are experiencing increased income exposure… middle of the paper… options, loopholes and other distortions that benefit the rich. The ultimate goal is to enable something deeply rooted in the American dream, an opportunity for all, regardless of socioeconomic background. Works Cited Belsie, Laurent. “The causes of growing income inequality”. Np, March 5, 2009. Web. April 30, 2014 Desilver, Drew. “Income inequality in the United States, rising for decades, is now the highest since 1928.” Pew Research Center RSS. Np December 30, 2010.Web. April 30, 2014.Fletcher, Michael. “Income inequality hurts economic growth, The Washington Post. Np, January 24, 2010. Web. April 29, 2014. Price, Mark. “The Increasingly Unequal States of America: Income Inequality by State, 1917 to 2011.” Institute of Economic Policy. Np, February 19, 2014. Web. April 30, 2014Wilhelm, Heather “The Great Farce of Income Inequality” Clear policy indeed. May 2013. Web. 29 April 2014.