Here are some graphs I created (sources of data at the bottom):

Here you can see an overlay of both graphs, and you can compare the wealth held by the top 1% (green line) with the amount of taxes they paid. Notice the times when ‘life was good’ — the teens, and the 50’s and 60’s, the taxes on the rich were sky high, and they held the least wealth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States
http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
(an awesome source, check it out)