US traffic fatalitiesNumber of billionaires worldwide
US traffic fatalities and the global count of billionaires have, between 2016 and 2022, risen together at a correlation of 0.853. The correlation is almost too tidy as a political cartoon. The world's richest and America's dead are both growing. Neither group, mercifully, overlaps much with the other.
US traffic fatalities climbed from around 37,500 in 2016 to over 42,500 by 2022, driven by vehicle fleet evolution and reduced enforcement. The global count of billionaires grew from 1,810 to over 2,600 in the same window, driven by asset-price inflation and tech-wealth concentration. Both trends reflect the same period of compounding expansion — one of mortality, one of extreme wealth — with no causal link between them. The fatality and the fortune are in different rooms.
Seven years of two lines rising together can describe two entirely separate trends on the same timeline. The crash and the capital are not in the same negotiation. Both have, however, kept climbing.
As an Amazon Associate, getspurious.com earns from qualifying purchases. Learn more.
Want to learn more about why correlations like “US traffic fatalities” vs “Number of billionaires worldwide” don't prove causation? Read our guide to statistical thinking.
