The richest 0.2% of the globe’s population now controls more than 20% of world assets.
A boom in the global stock markets have helped create almost one million new millionaires as well as increasing the wealth of seriously affluent people.
In 2014, the number of people worth more than $1 million in liquid assets reached a record 14.6 million, having increased by nearly 7% over the year.
This means that 21.4% of all the wealth in the world is in the hands of just 0.2% of people. Their assets were worth $56.4 trillion, according to experts.
Most of that wealth, $16.2 trillion, was in North America, followed closely by Asia where the wealthiest people had accumulated assets worth $15.8 trillion. It is anticipated that by the end of this year, there will be more wealth in Asia than in North America.
Asset wealth in Europe was worth $13 trillion.
Many of the world’s wealthiest people have turned to the stock market for their investments, especially in light of current low interest rates. The US stock market of late has reached record highs.
Comments
Last time l looked (being a mere mortal, retired here 'hurt' and living, albeit quite comfortably, on UK house-sale proceeds, a foreshortened personal pension and more recently UK OAP) I'd thought it was 20% of the assets owned by something like 10% of the peep 4 TCPs.
Is THAT what drives all these 'people'?
But more importantly, isn't the weather great?
Presumably this protester noting that the extreme left today in Greece was behaving just as the earlier extreme right used to.
And all the extreme left leadership are rewarding themselves handsomely. None offering to take gesture pay cuts and wage freezes. And many like Fin.Min Varoufakis are from wealthy oligarch roots - so will be winning whatever happens.
Anyone else think that, being (allegedly) a Game Theory researcher, Varoufakis is actually just testing the Theory ? Using the EU as the playing field ?
When this is all over then writing his next academic paper. Provisionally titled 'Game Theory works - up to a point. But not after the Point of no Return'