Edit: read amouseinmyhouse's post for a good briefing. His/her post has a lot more detail than mine, mine is more dictionary-like and a tad bland I suppose. Ok, I'll try and give it a shot. I'll start with a broad description, from what I can find on mobile. I'll see if I can find actual figures later, since mobile is a pain and I'm supposed to be at work (shh). The term 'white privelege,' as refers to (from wikipedia) ''both obvious and less obvious passive advantages that white persons may not recognize they have, which distinguishes it from overt bias or prejudice. These include cultural affirmations of one's own worth; presumed greater social status; and freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely.'' In the United States (picking on them again, sorry) it is especially apparent because of the lingering effects of racism from the nation's founding. Accumulation of wealth and its inheritance would have been limited to white people, and their descendants would have received those benefits and be off to a much better start. For instance, access to better education, housing, nutrition, etc COULD lead to a better future employment potential and an overall preservation of wealth across the generation, which allows for major investment opportunities like property that accelerate the accruement of their assets. To put it simply, it's because money can make money for you when you have enough to start with. Similarly, this income gap disparity creates a social divide: white people are likely exposed to people with more influence (friend of your dad is CEO, can he help you out on your job applications?) than minority groups who don't likely have the same chances of doing so. I'm sorry to hear of your past experiences, and I hope this may have at least clarified a few things. I am no expert, so the best thing you could do is to educate yourself and double check anything I said to see if it's factual. I mostly read from wikipedia, which is accurate and unbiased most of the time, but they can be wrong.