<
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2025/dec/10/just-0001-hold-three-times-the-wealth-of-poorest-half-of-humanity-report-finds>
"Fewer than 60,000 people – 0.001% of the world’s population – control three
times as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity, according to a
report that argues global inequality has reached such extremes that urgent
action has become essential.
The authoritative
World Inequality Report 2026, based on data compiled by 200
researchers, also found that the top 10% of income-earners earn more than the
other 90% combined, while the poorest half captures less than 10% of total
global earnings.
Wealth – the value of people’s assets – was even more concentrated than income,
or earnings from work and investments, the report found, with the richest 10%
of the world’s population owning 75% of wealth and the bottom half just 2%.
In almost every region, the top 1% was wealthier than the bottom 90% combined,
the report found, with wealth inequality increasing rapidly around the world.
“The result is a world in which a tiny minority commands unprecedented
financial power, while billions remain excluded from even basic economic
stability,” the authors, led by Ricardo Gómez-Carrera of the Paris School of
Economics, wrote.
The share of global wealth held by the top 0.001% has grown from almost 4% in
1995 to more than 6%, the report said, while the wealth of multimillionaires
had increased by about 8% annually since the 1990s – nearly twice the rate of
the bottom 50%.
The authors, one of whom is the influential French economist Thomas Piketty,
said that while inequality had “long been a defining feature of the global
economy”, by 2025 it had “reached levels that demand urgent attention”.
Reducing inequality was “not only about fairness, but essential for the
resilience of economies, the stability of democracies, and the viability of our
planet”. They said such extreme divides are no longer sustainable for societies
or ecosystems."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
