According to the latest stats Americans' wealth grew 2.2% in the July-September as stock portfolios surged.

Meantime, the report from the Federal Reserve shows that household net worth rose to nearly $55 trillion, even though the value of real estate holdings sank 3.7%.

This can be hardly matched to the pre-recession peak of $66 trillion but it is still far above bottom hit during the recession: $49 trillion in the first quarter of 2009.

Net worth is the value of assets such as homes and investments, minus debts like mortgages and credit cards. Its bounce-back last quarter came after household wealth had dropped 2.6% in the spring, the first decline since early 2009. At the time, investors' fears over Europe's debt crisis had shriveled stock portfolios.

Since then, stocks have surged. And household wealth rose in the July-September quarter as a result. The value of households' stock portfolios reached $7.8 trillion, a nearly 14% increase from the second quarter.