Pioneering Study Show Richest 2% own Half World Wealth
The richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of global household wealth according to a path-breaking study by the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER).
The study, "The World Distribution of Household Wealth," is the first of its kind to cover all countries in the world and all major components of household wealth, including financial assets and debts, land, buildings and other tangible property.
The research finds that net worth of just $2,200 per adult placed a household in the top half of the world wealth distribution in the year 2000. It also establishes the thresholds for the richest 10% and 1% of adults in the world.