The richest people in America aren’t always the ones you can name. In The Everywhere Millionaire: Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There, economists Owen Zidar and Eric Zwick count nearly five million U.S. households worth $5 million or more, over two million worth $10 million-plus and roughly 65,000 centimillionaires—a group The New Yorker says dwarfs the Forbes 400 many times over.

For scale: the 2025 Forbes 400 cutoff was $3.8 billion, with average wealth of $16.5 billion and $6.6 trillion collectively — and another 500 American billionaires didn't even make the cut. The quiet class beneath them owns pass-through businesses. Car dealerships, distributorships, medical and law practices, chains like Buc-ee's and Bass Pro Shops. The 1986 Tax Reform Act left the top corporate rate at 34% and the top individual rate at 28%, making that structure the smarter play.

NPR says when you look beyond Silicon Valley, beyond Wall Street, there’s a whole class of wealthy Americans hiding in plain sight. And, often, they got rich in mundane ways. They own car dealerships. They sell hot dogs and frozen mini-quiches. They run waxing salons. They supply fabricated metal and urinal cakes. They are dentists.

For every CEO of a public company, there are more than 1,000 private-business owners with a net worth of more than $25 million. But there’s also a darker side to the story. The link between inequality and the everywhere millionaire runs through politics.

They often use their newfound clout to shape public policy in their favor. They’ve triumphed in major battles to lower their tax bills. And, in many industries, they’ve fought for (and often won) rules and regulations that can protect their profits and raise costs for consumers.

The Environmental Protection Agency finalized the repeal of Biden-era limits on carbon dioxide from coal- and gas-fired power plants on Monday, then went further and proposed killing every remaining greenhouse gas rule for the sector. The 2024 rule now scrapped would have required existing coal plants and new gas plants to capture 90% of their carbon emissions by 2032.

The EPA’s new proposal argues the agency simply lacks authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate power plant greenhouse gases on climate grounds. If that position holds up in court, a future administration couldn’t reimpose limits without an act of Congress. It follows February’s repeal of vehicle emissions standards and the endangerment finding.

Administrator Lee Zeldin pitched it as a break on electricity prices. But The Verge says there couldn’t be a worse time to stop regulating carbon pollution. It’s also worth mentioning that the U.S. just had its hottest summer on record, beating the Dust Bowl era.

The 78th Emmy Awards were last night. Widow’s Bay was the big winner, setting a new all-time record for most Emmy wins ever by a comedy series, with 14. The show swept in the comedy categories and its lead actor, Matthew Rhys, also won big, taking home two Emmys for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series and also for outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie. Rhys scored the latter award for his turn in The Beast in Me. That’s never happened before.

Jean Smart also had a historic night. She collected her eighth career Emmy for outstanding lead actress for Hacks—her fifth for that role. Meaning she’s won every year she’s been eligible. For drama, The Pitt won outstanding drama series again after taking home the award last year, and its lead actor, Noah Wyle, also won again for outstanding lead actor in a drama series.

The show was hosted with corny mom jokes and a staggering number of outfit changes by Law & Order’s Mariska Hargitay. There was even a cameo by her biggest fan, Taylor Swift. All in all, there were upsets, shouts of joy, tears, touching tributes to stars we’ve lost and the show ended a little early. You can’t ask for much more.