The Haves and the Have-Nots

[Dubhlann]

Every once in a while you come across a fact that just leaves you just... rather flabbergasted.

The piece of data that did it for me today is this - Global Poverty & Wealth

The combine wealth of the bottom 1/2 of the earth's population (over 3.5 Billion peple) is equal to the combined wealth of the top _62_ people.

62 people = 3.5 Billion people

This is a massive increase from 2010 when 388 people = 3.5 Billion people.

The top 1% of the population (Approx 3.5 million people) have a greater combined wealth than other 99% of the population (3.465 Billion).

The bottom 20% of the world live on less that $1.90 per day. They saw their incomes barely grow. Conversely the top 10% saw an increase of 46%.

71% of the world live off of $10 or less a day.

I'm not trying to make a judgement on the uber-rich or your wealth... just something to keep in mind.

[ClassicRocker]

I was surprised by the numbers that accompanied that same study. Only like $700,000 puts you in the top 1% globally. Not that that is like walkin' around money or anything, but I would have thought it to be much more. That's a decent sized nest egg for a retiree.

[Dubhlann]

In the US, if you have a gross annual income of about $430,000, you're in the top 1%.

The issue is that there are SO MANY that eek by on such a low income... it doesn't take much to be much higher than them.

[ClassicRocker]

$430,000 puts you in the top 1% of Americans only I would imagine you would actually be much higher globally.
Also income inequality and wealth inequality are not the same thing. If you're interested in learning more about the economics of it presented in a fairly easy to read format I'd recommend "Capital in the 21st Century" by Thomas Piketty