It's never been harder to build wealth. Blame high interest rates and the US housing market.

• It's never been harder to build wealth in modern times, experts tell Business Insider.
• That's largely because it's become much harder to buy a home, the "big ticket" to wealth for most Americans.
• Less wealthy Americans have also been slammed by high inflation, high borrowing costs, and meager wage gains.

Never in modern times has it been harder to build wealth. That's partly thanks to sky-high interest rates in the economy, which have spiked borrowing costs and pushed home ownership out of reach for many Americans.