I didn’t realize Brazilians were wealthy and bought US goods?
I’ve been to Brazil and worked with companies there.
In Brazil, wealth is highly concentrated among a small segment of the population. As of the most recent data:
- The top 1% of Brazilians hold nearly 50% of the country’s total wealth.
- The top 10% control almost 80% of national wealth.
- Meanwhile, the bottom 50% actually have negative net wealth, meaning they carry more debt than assets.
In terms of millionaires:
- Brazil had about 380,000 millionaires in 2024, projected to rise to 470,000 by 2028.
- That’s roughly 1.5% of the adult population, aligning with global averages.
So while Brazil is home to a growing number of wealthy individuals, the percentage of truly wealthy Brazilians—those with significant net worth—is relatively small, and the gap between rich and poor remains stark.
Furthermore, - Brazil’s population in 2025 is estimated at around 215 million.
Roughly 23% of that equals roughly 49.5 million people in the upper middle class, This classification typically includes professionals, civil servants, and business owners with stable incomes and access to private services like education and healthcare and home ownership.
“I didn’t realize Brazilians were wealthy and bought US goods?”
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The trade currently between the US and Brazil is very close to even between the two. There’s no economic reason for Trump’s action now, he just wants to leverage his ability to impose tariffs on Brazil because his buddy Bolsonaro is being held to account for his apparent violations of Brazilian law.