Comment by red-iron-pine

It is a selection bias, plus perception that the people with more (the 0.01%) are a lot more common. "I dream of being rich, and to me rich is..."

More specifically:

To be in the top 10% of earners in the USA, you need an annual income of at least $148,812

To be in the top 5% of earners in the USA, you need an annual income of at least $352,773

The median salary in the USA is approximately $59,428 per year