We're rich! Average American household net worth is $______

[cthulu2016]

14. Yes, having zero doesn't necessarily move the median

But it's still a good statistical measure, provided one takes it only for what it says.

You could, however, have a situation where the bottom 40% was wiped out entirely... homeless, down to the clothes on their back... and the median would not budge if all those people were already in the bottom 40% before being wiped out..

But, like all statistics, it is best to look at a bunch of them for a fuller picture. If the bottom 40% was wiped out entirely then the average of the bottom 20% and the 20%-40% columns would drop to zero. (As would the median.)

The average is easily distorted by the super-rich, but the average for the income sub-divisions is pretty useful.