The wealthy got much poorer in 2009, according to preliminary Internal Revenue Service (IRS) individual income tax statistics.
The total number of individual returns filed fell 1.3% between 2008 and 2009, to about 141 million, and total adjusted gross income fell 6.9%, to $7.6 trillion, the IRS says.
Pension and annuity income was a source of stability: It increased 3.1%, to $531 billion.