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In the News

Richest 1% own half of the world's wealth

Graham Watson

17th November 2017

A Credit Suisse reportreveals the extent to which the meek seem increasingly unlikely to inherit the earth.

At the moment, the offspring of the richest 1% appear in line to inherit half of its wealth, leaving the rest of us scrabbling around for the rest. 

As the article notes:

"At the other end of the spectrum, the world’s 3.5 billion poorest adults each have assets of less than $10,000 (£7,600). Collectively these people, who account for 70% of the world’s working age population, account for just 2.7% of global wealth." 

  • Today, less than 10% of the global population owns 86% of the global wealth. 
  • Global mean wealth stands at $56,540 per adult
  • Since year 2000, the number of millionaires globally has increased 170%. 

Does it seem to you that inequality has already reached unacceptable levels? And if so, what can we do to change this? And at what cost? Plenty to ponder.

Graham Watson

Graham Watson has taught Economics for over twenty years. He contributes to Tutor2U, reads voraciously and is interested in all aspects of Teaching and Learning.

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