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The 2022 report from the Global Inequalities Laboratory notes that the wealth accumulated by billionaires has skyrocketed this year due to the financial effects of the Covid-19 crisis, which has caused an increase in inequalities.
The proportion of the wealth of billionaires over the rest of the population has increased by a record amount during the pandemic, according to the report on global inequality prepared by a network of social scientists.
The study estimated that this year billionaires collectively own 3.5% of global household wealth, up from just over 2% at the start of the pandemic, that is, in early 2020.
“The Covid-19 crisis has exacerbated inequalities between the rich and the rest of the population,” said lead study author Lucas Chancel, recalling that rich economies used massive fiscal support to mitigate sharp increases in poverty. observed elsewhere.
10% of the population concentrates 76% of the wealth
According to the analysis, the richest 10% of the population has three-quarters of the world’s wealth, while the middle class owns just over 23% and the poorest hardly touch two percent.
The group of those with more than $ 1 billion in goods and assets, who in 1995 owned about 1% of the world’s wealth, had risen to just over 2% in 2020 and has climbed this year to 3, 5%.
The result is that this half of the population has an average wealth of 2,900 euros per adult, which together represents only 2% of the world total, while the top 10 percent accounts for 76%.
Forbes’ annual list of world billionaires this year included a record 2,755 billionaires with a combined value of $ 13.1 trillion in net worth, up 60% from $ 8 trillion last year.
The new report showed that a broader group of 520,000 adults, who make up the richest 0.01% overall, saw their share of global wealth hit 11% this year, up from 10% the year before.
Belonging to the top 0.01% category means having a family wealth of at least $ 19 million.
With EFE and Reuters
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