According to the current trends, by next year, 1 percent of the richest population of the world will own more than the other 99 percent combined. This report was given by the anti-poverty charity Oxfam.
After the annual meeting of the international elite at Davos in Switzerland, the study was released that argues on the fact that global inequality is soaring, with the top tier seeing their share of wealth increase from 4 percent in 2009 to 48 percent in 2014.
Where are you on the global wealth ladder?
Most of the people can only dream of a jaw-dropping fortune, but if you are wondering whether you qualify for the top 1 percent slab or not, you would need approximately 2.3 million euros ($2.7 million), according to the average figure per adult. This report was given by Oxfam.
If we talk about the other end of the wealth scale, if everything you own is worth less than 10,000 US dollars, then you are in a good company as almost 70 percent of the world’s adults fall below this level of the wealth scale. Oxfam notes that more than a billion people live on less than $1.25, which is barely enough to buy a cup of coffee. The middle class of the world comprises about 20 percent of the popular, counting their wealth between $10,000 and $100,000. This is well below the cost of a house in many European countries.
The richest
Eighty richest individuals in the whole world have the same wealth as the poorest 50 percent of the entire population. Oxfam reported that 50 percent of this population stands to be around 3.5 billion people.
The number is even bigger at the top than a year ago, when the world’s half of the wealth was in the hands of 85 of the ultra-rich. The richest of the rich on last year/s Forbes list, 20% of billionaires had interests in the financial and insurance sectors. Oxfam released a report that shows the very rich are getting richer, pointing towards an example of a 22% increase in wealth between 2013 and 2014 for ex-New York City Mayor and media tycoon Michael Bloomberg. The same 20 percent rise in the wealth for financier George Soros was also reported.
This Oxfam report argues that global wealth is increasingly becoming concentrated in the hands of a small wealthy elite.
What to do?
Oxfam said that it will call for action to handle rising inequality at the Davos meeting, including a crackdown on the dodging of tax by corporations. The executive director at Oxfam, Winnie Byanyima said that this explosion in inequality is holding back the fight against poverty.
