Do employee-owners build more wealth and earn higher wages?

Research on ESOP participants points to a real wealth and wage advantage: a 2017 study found ESOP participants had 92% higher median net wealth and 33% higher wages. That said, the benefit reaches relatively few people, since only about 1% of the labor force currently participates in a private-company ESOP. These figures describe ESOP participants in that study, not every employee-owner everywhere.