suntzu
Dec 7th, 2006, 03:29 AM
Could this be the reason why the stock market is still chugging along despite inverted yield curve, slowing housing market, etc. Consumer spending by this 1% seems to be driving the economy - see high-end retailer stocks.
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40% of world's wealth owned by 1% of population
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 5, 2006 | 3:34 PM ET - CBC News
The richest one per cent of adults own 40 per cent of the world's household wealth, while half the world shares barely one per cent, said a report released Tuesday.
The study releasedby the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research, part ofthe United Nations University, emphasizes the continuing disparity between rich and poor.
'Income inequality has been rising for the past 20 to 25 years and we think that is true for inequality in the distribution of wealth.'-Canadian economist James Davies, an author of the report
It took more than $500,000 US to be among the richest one per cent of adults in the world, according to the report. Therichest 10 per cent of adults needed $61,000 US in assets defined as the value of physical and financial assets less debts.
In contrast, 50 per cent of the adults in the world owned barely one per cent of the household wealth.
The bulk of the wealthiest adults are concentrated in North America, Europe and Japan, the researchers said. For example, North America accounted for only six per cent of the world's adults, but held 34 per cent of its household wealth.
"Income inequality has been rising for the past 20 to 25 years and we think that is true for inequality in the distribution of wealth," said James Davies,one of the report's authors and a professor of economics at the University of Western Ontario.
"There is a whole group of problems in developing countries that make it difficult for people to build up assets, which are important, since life is so precarious," Davies said.
Canadians averaged $70,916 US in assets
Canada's net worth per capita came in at $70,916 US, putting it just ahead of Denmark.
Average net worth in the United States amounted to $143,867 per person in 2000, while it reached $180,837 in Japan.
At the bottom end of the scale were Ethiopia with per-capita wealth of $193 and Congo at $180.
Global household wealth amounted to $125 trillion in 2000, roughly three times value of total global production, or $20,500 per person.
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40% of world's wealth owned by 1% of population
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 5, 2006 | 3:34 PM ET - CBC News
The richest one per cent of adults own 40 per cent of the world's household wealth, while half the world shares barely one per cent, said a report released Tuesday.
The study releasedby the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research, part ofthe United Nations University, emphasizes the continuing disparity between rich and poor.
'Income inequality has been rising for the past 20 to 25 years and we think that is true for inequality in the distribution of wealth.'-Canadian economist James Davies, an author of the report
It took more than $500,000 US to be among the richest one per cent of adults in the world, according to the report. Therichest 10 per cent of adults needed $61,000 US in assets defined as the value of physical and financial assets less debts.
In contrast, 50 per cent of the adults in the world owned barely one per cent of the household wealth.
The bulk of the wealthiest adults are concentrated in North America, Europe and Japan, the researchers said. For example, North America accounted for only six per cent of the world's adults, but held 34 per cent of its household wealth.
"Income inequality has been rising for the past 20 to 25 years and we think that is true for inequality in the distribution of wealth," said James Davies,one of the report's authors and a professor of economics at the University of Western Ontario.
"There is a whole group of problems in developing countries that make it difficult for people to build up assets, which are important, since life is so precarious," Davies said.
Canadians averaged $70,916 US in assets
Canada's net worth per capita came in at $70,916 US, putting it just ahead of Denmark.
Average net worth in the United States amounted to $143,867 per person in 2000, while it reached $180,837 in Japan.
At the bottom end of the scale were Ethiopia with per-capita wealth of $193 and Congo at $180.
Global household wealth amounted to $125 trillion in 2000, roughly three times value of total global production, or $20,500 per person.