25 Eye-Opening Facts About Global Wealth Inequality That Will Shock You

People worldwide work very hard to build wealth that will enable them to afford a comfortable lifestyle. However, building this wealth has not been accessible for many of the global population for various reasons, including a lack of education, accessible education, or just inaccessibility. This has led countries to experience varying forms of wealth gaps that are jarring and concerning. These gaps have steadily been growing wider and wider over decades, causing various issues. Here are 25 eye-opening facts about global wealth inequality that will shock you:

Wealth is Concentrated in 1% of the Population

The world’s wealthiest 1% own 43% of its financial assets, more than the remaining 95% of the world’s population. This highlights an extreme concentration of wealth among the richest, while the poor are more likely to be able to cover monthly expenses. This concentration of wealth limits the opportunities available to people, which in turn helps the rich get richer while the poor get poorer.

Billionaires Have More Wealth than More Than Half the Global Population

Since 2020, the world’s five wealthiest men have doubled their collective wealth to $869 billion.  In 2023, billionaires were $3.3 trillion richer than in 2020. The wealthiest 1% have captured nearly two-thirds of all new wealth since 2020.  This highlights how extreme the wealth inequality around the world is. While billionaires continue to see their money grow, the poorest of the poor live on less than $2 daily, barely having enough money to cover their nutritional needs.

Income Distribution is One-sided

The income distribution worldwide is heavily one-sided. This is seen in the incomes that the top 10% of the world’s earners receive compared to the rest of the population. This 10% receives over half of the global income, while the remaining global income is shared among the rest of the population, leading to the lower earners earning little to nothing.

There is a Rising Number of Billionaires

In 2024, there were 2,781 billionaires, 141 more than the previous year and 26 more than the record set in 2021. The combined wealth of the world’s billionaires was $14.2 trillion in 2024, $2 trillion more than in 2023, and $1.1 trillion more than in the previous record set in 2021. The United States has the most billionaires, with 813, followed by China with 473 and India with 200.

Wealth is Growing Faster than Income

A critical difference between wealth and income growth has impacted the global population. Wealth has been growing much faster than the global population’s income. This has emerged through wealth growth from investments in assets that have provided high returns over the years, enabling investors to grow their wealth, while people who depend on a traditional income are seeing much lesser growth each year.

Women Face Higher Wealth Inequality

Women hold just over 30% of global wealth. This reflects a system that discriminates between genders and stems from various barriers and income gaps that bar women from building their wealth, investing, or making crucial savings. Women are seen to be getting lower incomes for the same position and the same kind of work that men would get, shedding light on how wealth inequality emerges.

Hundreds of Millions of Children Live in Poverty

According to a UNICEF-World Bank analysis, 333 million children, or 1 in 6 children, live in extreme poverty globally. This means that they survive on less than $2.15 per day. Child poverty is a global issue that affects children in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. These children do not have proper access to education, primary healthcare, or even basic amenities, which all impact their ability to work towards a future outside of poverty.

Access to Education Leads to Wealth Inequality

The level of access that people all over the world have towards education is also unequal. Some people have much fewer opportunities to get a basic level of education, let alone high-quality education. The pay gap between college and high school graduates in the United States is significant and continues to widen. In 2023, the median annual earnings for recent bachelor’s degree holders were $60,000, compared to $36,000 for those with a high school diploma. The jobless rate for bachelor’s degree holders is less than 3%, while poverty is 3.5 times lower than for those with high school degrees.  

Tax Avoidance Increases Inequality

Many wealthy individuals across the globe have resources that assist them in finding ways to exploit tax loopholes. This reduces the tax burden, which in turn deprives governments of resources. This shifts the tax burden to lower—and middle-income earners who do not have the same opportunities or resources that help them avoid taxes. This can be very damaging to a large portion of the global population, who are left paying much higher taxes that deplete their already limited funds.

Wealthier Individuals Have Better Health Outcomes

People with higher financial assets tend to have better access to high-quality healthcare, which increases their overall life expectancy. On the other hand, people with lower financial assets cannot cover the expenses required to access healthcare that can help them increase their life expectancy. Wealthy people tend to have eight to nine more years of disability-free life after age 50 than poor people.

Geography Plays a Role in Wealth Inequalities

Wealth distribution between urban and rural areas varies worldwide and is affected by a number of factors, including globalization, liberalization, and economic development models. In 2011, the Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality, was 31.1 in rural India and 39 in urban India. The average income in Bihar, India’s poorest state, was about 13% of the average income in New Delhi, the national capital.

Most Wealth is Inherited

Many wealthy people hold generational wealth that is passed down from one generation to the next. This keeps wealth highly concentrated in one family, enabling issues of wealth inequality to continue growing. The inheriting of this wealth also creates a cycle of privilege that can be difficult for the working population to break. People who don’t have access to generational wealth tend to continue working hard to create opportunities. In contrast, those who live in this wealth continue to live privileged and more luxurious lifestyles with ease.

Global Wealth has Grown Significantly

The total global wealth has significantly grown in recent years. However, this growth is not reflected in the world’s population. Instead, it is concentrated in the already wealthy, indicating unequal distribution. The wealthiest people in the world continue to amass wealth over time, while those who live in poverty have little to no opportunity to get out of poverty. Global net wealth grew by 4.3% in 2023 to $477 trillion. Financial wealth rebounded by almost 7% in 2023 to $275 trillion. North America accounted for more than 50% of all new financial wealth in 2023

Technology Contributes to Wealth Inequality

Technological developments and advancements have been central to economic growth in many countries. However, this has disproportionately benefited only a specific part of the population, particularly those with the wealth and the resources to invest in these advancements and see significant returns in the process. People who do not have the resources to invest in these innovations are left fighting the ability to afford to use these technologies to improve their quality of life.

Large Populations Lack Access to Financial Services

The financial services industry is essential in helping people manage their finances to save more and build their overall wealth. However, many parts of the world and millions of people do not have proper access to financial services, limiting their ability to develop wealth-growing strategies. The lack of access to banking, credit, and investment opportunities provided by financial services companies restricts people’s ability to improve their financial situation and escape poverty.

Wealth Has Political Influence

Rich people and big companies have a lot of money and use it to influence politics. They can donate to political campaigns, lobby for laws that benefit them, and control how people think about important issues. For example, in the 2020 US presidential election, the top 10 donors gave over $600 million. In many poor countries, wealthy people have a lot of power over the government, which can make it harder for ordinary people to improve their lives.

Wealth Inequality Highlights Racial Inequality

One of the most jarring impacts of wealth inequality is how specific populations belonging to certain racial backgrounds and communities are more impacted than others. For instance, in the US, the median wealth of a White household is significantly higher than that of Black or Hispanic households. This gap is a result of historical and systemic factors such as discriminatory housing policies, redlining, and unequal access to education and employment opportunities.  

Globalization Contributes to Wealth Inequality

Globalization has played an important role in helping some populations get out of poverty by creating all kinds of opportunities that have allowed people to earn a good income that enables them to build their wealth. However, globalization also has a dark side, seen in increased job displacement, wage stagnation or lack of income growth, and a division between the wealthy and the working class. Many economic benefits of globalization have been concentrated on the already wealthy, enabling them to continue growing their wealth.

Wealth Inequality Intersects with Environmental Justice

Wealth inequality plays a role in creating environmental justice. It is expected that people of lower incomes will bear the brunt of various kinds of environmental issues and degradation, while the wealthy will continue not to feel any side effects of environmental issues. The increasing environmental issues exacerbate the disparity seen in the economy, with the lower-income earners facing more of the consequences of the actions of the wealthy, especially those that contribute to environmental issues.

Philanthropy Can Only Do so Much

Many companies and wealthy people attempt to contribute to communities to display their philanthropic values. While these actions and efforts are highly appreciated, they only help certain community members and do not address the root cause of economic and wealth inequality. These companies and individuals help to make meaningful changes to many people’s lives. However, global change requires higher and more significant action that addresses issues that create wealth inequality in the first place.

Workplaces Contribute to Wealth Inequality

Wage disparities in the workplace have contributed to wealth inequality. These disparities affect members who belong to certain sections of the community more than others, which not only creates issues of diversity but also of how wealth is distributed in the workplace. Addressing equal pay issues can be a great way to lower wage disparity and enable workplaces to lower their contributions to wealth inequality.

The Global Pandemic Increased Wealth Inequality

The global pandemic of 2020 affected people worldwide. An IMF report says 120 million people were pushed into extreme poverty, and there was a massive global recession due to the pandemic. As suffering and poverty have risen, some data show an increase in another extreme: billionaires’ wealth. An Oxfam report said billionaires’ wealth rose more in the first 24 months of COVID-19 than in 23 years combined.  

Rising Consumer Debt Highlights Wealth Inequality

Wealth inequality is also seen among rising consumer debt and the populations affected by this debt. Members who are middle—or lower-income earners tend to be required to borrow more to buy a new home, fund an education, etc. On the other hand, people who belong to wealthier groups don’t need to borrow loans to make big purchases or pay for education. This creates a large amount of consumer debt that affects only members of the population who cannot afford certain expenses, highlighting wealth inequality.

Future of Work May Contribute to Wealth Inequality

The future of work lies in increasing automation and leveraging technology to increase efficiency and productivity in the workplace. This threatens many people’s jobs, especially those who are low-wage workers, which can create an employment shift that may leave many of these individuals unemployed. This has the potential to increase wealth inequality even further, with more vulnerable population members feeling the impacts.

Financial Literacy Can Address Wealth Inequalities

Many people who lack financial literacy are unaware of how to manage their funds and finances effectively. This leads them to overspend, hindering their ability to contribute to savings or invest. The lack of financial literacy may also limit their knowledge about investments and how they can grow their wealth through strategic actions. This leads these people to be at higher risk of losing their money or taking up loans, which can create a financial burden. Having financial literacy, on the other hand, can be extremely helpful and even minimize wealth inequalities.

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