8 people own half the world's wealth: Is that a good thing?

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   calculus-geometryposted 8 years ago

   The articles you linked to say "World's 8 richest men own as much wealth as poorest half of world's population."  That's not the same thing as owning half the world's wealth.  The bottom 50% of the population own much less than half the world's wealth because wealth is not uniformly distributed.  If you sit down and think about it for a bit, you'll see that the two things are different
   
   Anyway, since you're interested in wealth distribution, Savills of the UK estimated the total value of all real estate on Earth to be 217 trillion $USD in this interesting report:
   
   http://pdf.euro.savills.co.uk/global-re … s-2016.pdf

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   chef-de-jourposted 8 years ago

   Statistics and facts are so frustrating. Eight men own 50% of the world's wealth. Hardly a surprise. Hasn't it been this way since we started to measure wealth? In a few centuries time it could be that 10 women own 60% of the wealth? And most of those women will come from China or India. Measurement of wealth is another puzzle - only economists and accountans can really work it out - we just see the end results.
   The few control the many. That is fundamentally wrong a part of my mind says, but another part declares that this is the way the ant's nest works, for good or for bad. Here in the UK around 7% of the population own 84% of the wealth, which inspired a theatre company to form back in the day - 7:84 - a socialist venture which lasted a decade or so before the market forces undermined such ideals. And we've always had the Queen (and sometimes a KIng), who owns incalculable wealth, including a diamond which could probably buy a medium sized country. Right now large parts of London, the classy bits, are owned by Russian oligarchs, who buy up property, keep it standing and wait for the markets to improve. The world's elite pull the strings, sponsor politicians, the military, the media, to keep the status quo. Occasionally a mini revolution might break out here and there with the aim of getting rid of such inequalities and corruption but history shows that sooner or later powermongers, manipulators and psychopaths rise to the top and the sycle starts all over again, in a slightly different guise.
   Personally I think it's not a good thing and in an ideal world I would love for the wealth to be spread around a bit more! I mean, how much does a rich person need? I guess that's the same as asking how long is a piece of string? Rich people always want more, it goes without saying, although I did hear of a Californian CEO recently who decided to give up his annual bonus and draw an equal salary to that of his workers. A minor miracle.
   Poor people will always want more, won't they? Who wouldn't want to give poorer people a fair share and help them get on in the world? How many well meaning politicians have come along promising to close the gap between rich and poor? And how long before the markets and corporate investment and influence begin to make these political statements mere rhetoric?
   How many politicians have come along and promised a fairer tax system? Tax the rich to kingdom come would be a good thing wouldn't it? Close all the loopholes and clamp down on the tax dodgers. That would bring in more money for public services, for the poorer people to benefit. But what in reality happens? These idealistic notions get b uried in goverment processes and inhouse bickerings. Lawyers are hired to help giant companies avoid paying tax. Politicians are left spinning stories, the public remain sceptical and the rich manage to get richer. 
   In an ideal world I could give you the perfect answer, I could name a country where wealth is distributed equally to everyone but I don't think such a country exists. Even Sweden struggles with wealth inequality : http://econlife.com/2016/04/swedish-wea … tribution/
   Your question is best answered by an accountant or someone who knows about world finances and how markets work.

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   ahorsebackposted 8 years ago

   Why do so many people have this issue with the "inequalities of wealth "  ,  And yet ,Can't see the difference enough to recognize that the "smarter" person is going to be  ,more than likely ,  the richer one ?   Isn't this a direct product of  I.Q.  , genetics , personal drive , social standing , etc......
   We are neither born  equal in intellect nor economic standing ,  we are not all born with the same drive for success  nor  ability to rise through the masses for either gaining in riches nor engaging intellect with economics.

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