Distribution of Wealth
Hint: Today, according to Oxfam - 8 individuals own as much wealth as the bottom 3.5 billion.
See wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_of_wealth
Contents
- 1 Oxfam Report 2020
- 2 Global Scenario
- 3 Poverty Rate in the USA is Not Decreasingin the 21st Century
- 4 20% of the Richest People Own 80% of the Wealth
- 5 Wealth Disparity has been Increasing since the 1940s
- 6 The Percentage of People in Abject Poverty ($1.25/day) is Decreasing Globally
- 7 The Global Distribution of Wealth Trend Depends on Country
Oxfam Report 2020
"The world’s 2,153 billionaires control more wealth than the poorest 4.6 billion people combined who comprise 60 percent of the globe’s population, according to a new report from Oxfam.
The report also says that the 22 richest men in the world have more wealth than all of the women in Africa. Women and girls perform 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work daily, which Oxfam says adds $10.8 trillion annually to the global economy.
The globe’s richest 1 percent control more than twice the amount of wealth as 6.9 billion people, the report adds."
This particular income inequality report is focused on women - here's the actual report. The main (shocking) points:
Women do over three-quarters of all unpaid care work, logging 12.5 billion hours per day, contributing $10.8 trillion to the economy each year–or three times the world’s tech industry. The world’s 22 richest men are worth more than all the women in Africa. Globally, 42% of women are outside the paid labor force because of unpaid care responsibilities, compared with 6% of men. Nearly half the world subsists on $5.50/day or less, which the report says is partially because income “accrues to those at the top,” mostly benefiting men, leaving those at the bottom further behind. On average globally, 18% of government ministers and 24% of parliamentarians are women, meaning women are often excluded from decision making. Caregivers, in particular, have minimal voice. The world’s richest 1% have more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people.
Global Scenario
- 3 Ways Humans Cause Poverty - Great historical overview of poverty creation. 4.3 Billion live below the UN-defined poverty line. [1].
- Other Economic Systems readings from Fastcoexist. - [2]
- 2014 - 85 people are as wealthy as bottom half - [3]
- Super Rich - YouTube - [4]
- Evonomics - [5]
- Institute for New Economic Thinking - [6]
- Santa Fe Institute - [7]
- 4 Things About Poverty That You Probably Know but the Gates Don't - [8]
Poverty Rate in the USA is Not Decreasingin the 21st Century
Since population is growing, absolute numbers of poor people are increasing.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States:
20% of the Richest People Own 80% of the Wealth
- from http://thesocietypages.org/graphicsociology/2009/05/27/champagne-glass-distribution-of-wealth/ :
Wealth Disparity has been Increasing since the 1940s
The Percentage of People in Abject Poverty ($1.25/day) is Decreasing Globally
- Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty . Note: This is welcome news, but making $1.26+/day is not inspiring - opinion of MJ. So consider this graph rationally. Yes, abject poverty is going down. But defining poverty at an arbitrary level of $1.25, or $2, or $100 - or whatever - is exactly that. Read more about this - essential message: with an arbitrary definition of poverty, it is ab initio impossible to eradicate poverty. [9]. Yes, there is more wealth, educated people, less slavery today - society is moving forward - but at the same time let's be honest.
The Global Distribution of Wealth Trend Depends on Country
- US, UK, China are clear increases in Gini coefficient (worse distribution of wealth).
This is the Gini Coefficient from Wikipedia:
