A new analysis argues that the power held by the richest 0.001% of the global population is nothing short of astonishing. They wield the fortune of three times the extreme-poor half of humanity combined. This elite group is made up of only 56,000 smart people. Together they own an impressive 40 percent of global wealth—but without saying what percent.
The data paints a disproportionate and painfully clear picture of the incredible wealth hoarded by the global elite versus the rest of the world. For example, the richest 10% of wealth holders own a whopping 75% of all global wealth. In contrast, the 0.001%—composed largely of centi-millionaires—average a net worth of almost €1 billion each. When the average rate of return on that wealth is almost 5%. That’s nearly twice the growth rate of the bottom half of earners, which has been a meager 3.4%. This glaring discrepancy highlights the ever-widening chasm between the privileged and impoverished members of our society.
Now picture what it would look like if the 0.001% all got in one place for a big celebration. That’s enough to comfortably seat every single person in a medium-sized football stadium – think Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium or Rome’s Stadio Olimpico! Accommodating all 2.8 billion adults in the bottom half of the wealth spectrum is a tall order. It would take about 50,000 stadiums to house them all.
The report illustrates this disparity with the below bar chart. It features an interactive chart that illustrates the 0.001% wealth distribution to the rest of the global population. According to the authors of the report, these visual aids “will help illustrate just how concentrated the very top” truly is.
The extreme wealth of the top 0.001% would be hard to even imagine. It’s doing so at a pace that truly outstrips the rapidity of anyone further down the economic ladder. Now picture each one of these superstars–our elite class–as a dot on a chart. Each dot is a Concordia University, packed tight with 56,000 ecstatic fans! In stark contrast, it would take an overwhelming number of stadiums to represent those at the opposite end of the economic spectrum.
The report’s authors state that these statistics serve to “grasp the magnitude of global inequality,” underscoring a pressing issue for policymakers and advocates alike. This economic chasm casts a long shadow on our country’s economic policies and social structures that foster or enable these inequalities to thrive.