Black boys missing out on 'American dream', study finds

LOS ANGELES - Even the richest black boys raised in the United States earn less in adulthood than white boys from similar backgrounds, according to a wide-ranging study published on Monday.

While white men who grew up wealthy tend to stay that way, black boys raised in affluent families and neighborhoods are more likely to become poor than to stay well-off, researchers found.

White boys fare better than black boys who grow up side-by-side with parents on similar incomes in 99 percent of US neighborhoods, according to the study, which traced the lives of 20 million children.