Illustration: Cathy Wilcox

Stephen Cook: Two stories here. One about this probably unsurprising revelation. The other looking at just who these 85 people are.

By Gareth Hutchens, SMH.com  –  January 21, 2014 | Thanks to Golden Age of Gaia.

http://tinyurl.com/lzec6lg

Eighty-five people control the same amount of wealth as half the world’s population. That is 85 people compared with 3.5 billion.

A new report from Oxfam (which you can read here) has been published in time for the World Economic Forum in Davos this week (see separate story today). It shows the world’s ultra-wealthy have not only recovered from the global financial crisis, they have positively blossomed.

The report shows the wealth of the 1 per cent richest people in the world is worth about $US110 trillion, 65 times the total wealth of the bottom half of the world’s population.

It also shows the world’s richest 85 people control about $US1.7 trillion in wealth, equivalent to the bottom half of the world’s population.

And far from hindering the wealthy, the political response to the global financial crisis – including the actions of central banks and the austerity measures introduced by national governments – has made the rich fabulously richer.

In the US, the wealthiest 1 per cent of the population grabbed 95 per cent of post-financial crisis growth between 2009 and 2012, while the bottom 90 per cent became poorer.

But an Oxfam survey of six countries – the United States, UK, Spain, Brazil, India and South Africa – has found that the majority of people believe laws and regulations are skewed in favour of the rich, so people are noticing.

It has called on the world’s powerful meeting in Davos to try to stem the tide of rising inequality.

It says seven out of 10 people live in countries where economic inequality has increased in 30 years.

”Given the scale of rising wealth concentrations, opportunity capture and unequal political representation are a serious and worrying trend,” the report says.

”This massive concentration of economic resources in the hands of fewer people presents a significant threat to inclusive political and economic systems.”

Economists say the rise in global inequality is not surprising.

The US Federal Reserve’s multibillion-dollar bond-buying program was singled out as a major driver of the increase in wealth inequality.

“The distribution of wealth has been widening, both before and after the financial crisis,” Bank of America chief economist Saul Eslake said.

”And although I don’t criticise the policies on these grounds, I think it’s fairly apparent that the policies that are being pursued, particularly by central banks, in an attempt to revive major advanced economies after the financial crisis, have probably contributed to widening the distribution of wealth.”

Frank Stilwell, Emeritus Professor at Sydney University, said he was not surprised there was inequality of that magnitude, but he wondered if Davos would be the forum to address it.

”It should be a matter of public concern, within and between nations, because this concentration among the ultra-wealthy I think is pretty well documented within countries,” Professor Stilwell said.

”The bigger question is if the World Economic Forum and its member participants can do anything about these trends is another matter.”

Sign the petition to “The World’s Leaders: Tell Us the Truth in 2014″ today at: https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/the-world-s-leaders-tell-us-the-truth-in-2014. – and share it everywhere! Via Facebook, Google+,Twitter, email, blogs etc

The World’s Most Exclusive Club

The financial divide. Illustration: Frank Maiorana

Steve Colquhoun, SMH.com – January 21, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/lub9jvj

It’s the world’s most exclusive, most powerful club and the price of admission is steep – $US12.7 billion ($14.42 billion) to be precise.

It has 85 members, who between them control assets totalling $US1.7 trillion – the same amount, according to a new Oxfam report, as that shared by the 3.5 billion people who make up the bottom half of the world’s population.

The combined wealth of the 85 is believed to be greater than Australia’s entire GDP, which was listed at $US1.56 trillion by the United Nations in 2012.

The singular wealth of American tech pioneer Bill Gates, who with $US77.1 billion is listed by Bloomberg as the world’s richest man, exceeds the GDP of one of the US’s nearest neighbours, Cuba.

The Microsoft co-founder is one of 34 US citizens among the world’s top 85 billionaires, with his compatriots also taking seven spots in the top 10 on Bloomberg’s rich list.

However, both Gates and fellow American rich-lister Warren Buffett (No.4 with $US58.9 billion) are also noted for their philanthropy, donating many millions each year to charitable causes.

Other notable names hovering near the top of the world’s most luxurious totem pole include Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim (No.2, $US69.6 billion), Spanish co-founder of the Zara fashion chain Amancio Ortega (No.3, $US64.8 billion), Swedish Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad (No.5, $US52.8 billion) and American co-founder of Oracle Larry Ellison (No.8, $US43.9 billion).

Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg are ranked the world’s 17th and 26th richest individuals respectively.

Russia adds 10 of its citizens to the top 85, led by 37th-ranked investor Alisher Usmanov ($US19.8 billion). Germany and India each contribute five, and France and Hong Kong add four.

Only one Australian is a member of the “85 club” – Gina Rinehart’s wealth is estimated at $US15.2 billion, ranking her the world’s 61st richest person.

Her personal fortune is estimated to exceed the GDP of 78 countries including Jamaica, North Korea and Iceland.

She is ranked the world’s eighth-richest woman, with a total of 10 females among the world’s top 85 billionaires including Laurene Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, at No.82 ($US13 billion).

The Oxfam report also warns the concentration of wealth is actually far greater than it can list, estimating that $US18.5 trillion – a figure greater than the GDP of the world’s richest country, the US – sits unrecorded and hidden in offshore tax havens.

Here’s Bloomberg’s list of the Top 200 as at January 17, 2014: http://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/2014-01-17/ada

Sign the petition to “The World’s Leaders: Tell Us the Truth in 2014″ today at: https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/the-world-s-leaders-tell-us-the-truth-in-2014. – and share it everywhere! Via Facebook, Google+,Twitter, email, blogs etc.