There appears to be no slowdown for the super rich, as the world’s wealthiest 1 per cent is set to own more than that of the rest of the world’s population put together, according to a study by Oxfam.
The research shows that the share of the world’s wealth owned by the richest 1 per cent scaled up from 44 per cent in 2009 to 48 per cent in 2014. By 2020, the richest 1 per cent will own more than half of the world’s wealth; 54 per cent according to Oxfam and Credit Suisse.
The study also showed that 52 per cent of the global wealth not owned by the richest 1 per cent is owned by those in the richest 20 per cent.
The remaining population accounts for just 5.5 per cent of global wealth, and their average wealth was $3,851 (£2,544) per adult in 2014. That compares with an average wealth of $2.7million per adult for the elite 1 per cent, according to Oxfam. The top 80 billionaires have a wealth of $1.9 trillion. To be included as one of the world’s wealthiest 1 per cent, a person would need to be worth just over half a million pounds.