The world's richest 2%
The richest 2 per cent of adults own more than half the world’s wealth, according to the most comprehensive study of personal assets. Among the largest economies, Britain boasted the third-highest average wealth of $126,832 (£64,172) per adult, after the United States and Japan, a United Nations development research institute found.
Those with assets of $500,000 could consider themselves to be among the richest 1 per cent in the world. Those with net assets of $2,200 per adult were in the top half of the wealth distribution. Although global income was distributed unequally, the spread of wealth was more skewed, according to the study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the UN University.
“Wealth is heavily concentrated in North America, Europe and high-income AsiaPacific countries. People in these countries collectively hold almost 90 per cent of total world wealth,” the report said. Researchers defined wealth as the value of physical and financial assets minus debts. The richest 10 per cent of adults accounted for 85 per cent of assets. The bottom 50 per cent of the world’s adults owned barely 1 per cent of global wealth.
posted by John Good @ 6:23 AM
7 Comments:
ah yes - the worlds top 2....anyone found a list of exactly who they are?
Who they are is immaterial. Since the beginning of recorded time, a small group (the smart ones) has always had control of the majority of wealth in the world.
Can't blame this one on the good ol' USA....In a scant 230 years we've given more citizens a percentage of the wealth and a better standard of living than any other country in history.
I just blogged about this too. Sickening.
Smart ones, Tim? Tell that to the Royal family in England. Inbreeding x silver spoon = wealthy idiots. You do not have to be smart to have your life handed down to you on a silver platter. This is a matter of luck. I respect people like Henry Ford, Bill Gates, etc. who became rich off their ingenuity and dedication, but a quick look at Paris Hilton should blow the doors off your "smart ones" theory.
Re-read my second sentence you myopic whiner. Throughout ALL of history....the fact is....a small percentage of people has ALWAYS controlled the wealth of the world...the point here is percentages, not personalities. The original article is meant to point out the huge disparity between the haves and the have-nots. My point is, it's always been that way, this is nothing new, it's not news (hence the short shelf life of the story) and is not likely to change. Your Paris Hilton reference is not analogous to the article. When it comes to history, you might want to stick to the Beatles.
Whiner? You whine about anything that shows your beloved Rethuglican party to be wrong and try to use pretzel logic to make it all go away.
Hey Socrates, why is it Conservatives donate more to the underpriveledged than liberals?
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