Number of people combined that own as much wealth as the bottom 50% falls from 338 to 62

[ksen]

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/01/#

https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxf...303a2680da13b314a1afed44&cid=aff_affwd_donate

Search parties have been organized to find the missing 276 people.

Also, calls for legislation designating the group "Owning-as-much-as-3.6-billion-other-people" as an endangered species intensifies.

 

[dismal]

Thanks, Obama.

 

[Axulus]

And you, all by yourself, own more than the bottom 2 billion combined! My nephew has more in his piggy bank than the bottom 2 billion. What should be done about this intolerable situation?

The result is that if you take the bottom 30% of the world’s population — the poorest 2 billion people in the world — their total aggregate net worth is not low, it’s not zero, it’s negative. To the tune of roughly half a trillion dollars. My niece, who just got her first 50 cents in pocket money, has more money than the poorest 2 billion people in the world combined.

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2014/04/04/stop-adding-up-the-wealth-of-the-poor/

 

[Trausti]

Why would you make a global comparison? As the fecundity of third-world countries greatly exceeds that of developed world, of course this supposed gap would increase. Maybe if third-world countries looked to stabilize their populations and engage in productive economic activity - instead of expecting handouts - they could close this "gap" on their own. See natural-resource deficient South Korea.

 

[dismal]

My nephew has more in his piggy bank than the bottom 2 billion.

My niece, who just got her first 50 cents in pocket money, has more money than the poorest 2 billion people in the world combined.

Seems a bit premature to be ratting out family members.

ksen's not standing people up against the wall...yet.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

There are a bazillion angles to look at. What I find interesting is that the top 62 people's wealth double since 2008. Dropped about 25% for the bottom 50%.

 

[ksen]

My nephew has more in his piggy bank than the bottom 2 billion.

Seems a bit premature to be ratting out family members.

ksen's not standing people up against the wall...yet.

You don't need a wall for a guillotine.

Just sayin'.

 

[DBT]

Money, contrary to the laws of physics, flows upwards but only trickles downwards.

 

[coloradoatheist]

Money, contrary to the laws of physics, flows upwards but only trickles downwards.

So are you saying that some that makes money can't lose? Now rich people ever go broke?

Shows you one of the problems with just measuring wealth statically. A person in Africa living in a dirt hutch but has no loans is wealthier than someone that has $40K in debt. Is that really the case?

 

[DBT]

Money, contrary to the laws of physics, flows upwards but only trickles downwards.

So are you saying that some that makes money can't lose? Now rich people ever go broke?

Didn't say that at all. My comment reflects the overall trend, wealth distribution the rich [generally] getting richer. Of course there are exceptions.

 

[coloradoatheist]

So are you saying that some that makes money can't lose? Now rich people ever go broke?

Didn't say that at all. My comment reflects the overall trend, wealth distribution the rich [generally] getting richer. Of course there are exceptions.

Not necessarily either. The people who get rich get more money than in the time before. Not all people stay. The athletes who make their big contracts now aren't the ones that were playing decades ago.

 

[Axulus]

So are you saying that some that makes money can't lose? Now rich people ever go broke?

Didn't say that at all. My comment reflects the overall trend, wealth distribution the rich [generally] getting richer. Of course there are exceptions.

Another fact is that the number of wealthy people in the world is increasing rapidly, far faster than the rate of population growth. When a middle class person becomes wealthy did the wealth trickle downwards or flow upwards, using your terminology?

The total number of millionaire households in the world rose 19 percent last year, to 16.3 million households, according to Boston Consulting Group's Global Wealth report.

Millionaire population soars to 16 million households

Also, almost half of the increase wealth is brand new wealth in the form of brand new assets:

Globally, more than half ($6 trillion, or 56 percent) of private wealth growth in 2014 was generated by the market performance of existing assets, with the balance ($5 trillion, or 44 percent) generated by newly created wealth.

https://www.bcgperspectives.com/con...ealth-2015-winning-the-growth-game/?chapter=2

Did that newly created wealth flow upwards or trickle downwards?

Finally, growth in ultra high net worth total assets is dominated by new entrants to the category not existing growth to their assets (by a 9:1 ratio):

Private wealth held by the upper high-net-worth (HNW) segment (those with between $20 million and $100 million) rose by a healthy 23 percent in 2014 to more than $9 trillion. With a projected CAGR of 10 percent over the next five years, this segment is expected to surpass $15 trillion in private wealth in 2019. This growth will be triggered by both a large number of new households entering the segment (a projected CAGR of 9 percent) and growth in average wealth per household (a CAGR of 1 percent).

...

In the old world, the UHNW segment (and especially billionaires) is expected to witness the highest growth in number of households by 2019—an estimated 13 percent annually in Western Europe and 12 percent in North America (nearly twice as fast as the upper HNW segment in those regions). The picture remains similar in most parts of the new world, with the exception of Eastern Europe, where the upper HNW segment is expected to grow at a strong pace in terms of number of households (14 percent annually) relative to the UHNW segment (18 percent annually). The projected growth of these segments presents a significant opportunity for wealth managers around the world.

https://www.bcgperspectives.com/con...ealth-2015-winning-the-growth-game/?chapter=2

 

[DBT]

Speaking generally:

''The latest figures for Australian household incomes and wealth released last week showed that income inequality has risen in the past two years. The average annual income of the richest 20% rose by 7%, while median households saw their income rise by just 1.3% in the same period.

Politicians love to justify economic policy by referring to “middle Australians” or the average household. So Australia’s median income is important.

But deciding who is wealthy and who’s an average battler generally comes down to whether the politicians are being generous or making cuts.''

Why-rich-are-getting-richer.
''The U.S. economy appears to be coming apart at the seams. Unemployment remains at nearly ten percent, the highest level in almost 30 years; foreclosures have forced millions of Americans out of their homes; and real incomes have fallen faster and further than at any time since the Great Depression. Many of those laid off fear that the jobs they have lost -- the secure, often unionized, industrial jobs that provided wealth, security, and opportunity -- will never return. They are probably right.

And yet a curious thing has happened in the midst of all this misery. The wealthiest Americans, among them presumably the very titans of global finance whose misadventures brought about the financial meltdown, got richer. And not just a little bit richer; a lot richer. In 2009, the average income of the top five percent of earners went up, while on average everyone else's income went down. This was not an anomaly but rather a continuation of a 40-year trend of ballooning incomes at the very top and stagnant incomes in the middle and at the bottom. The share of total income going to the top one percent has increased from roughly eight percent in the 1960s to more than 20 percent today.''

 

[Loren Pechtel]

And you, all by yourself, own more than the bottom 2 billion combined! My nephew has more in his piggy bank than the bottom 2 billion. What should be done about this intolerable situation?

The result is that if you take the bottom 30% of the world’s population — the poorest 2 billion people in the world — their total aggregate net worth is not low, it’s not zero, it’s negative. To the tune of roughly half a trillion dollars. My niece, who just got her first 50 cents in pocket money, has more money than the poorest 2 billion people in the world combined.

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2014/04/04/stop-adding-up-the-wealth-of-the-poor/

Yup, which is why all these comparisons are bogus. Your average newly minted college graduate has a substantial negative net worth.

 

[TV and credit cards]

And you, all by yourself, own more than the bottom 2 billion combined! My nephew has more in his piggy bank than the bottom 2 billion. What should be done about this intolerable situation?

Yup, which is why all these comparisons are bogus. Your average newly minted college graduate has a substantial negative net worth.

Yeah. How much debt is your nephew carrying? It's all about junior's net worth.

Bottom line is, if your system is supposedly set up so people can get ahead and the majority of the people are not getting ahead, something's wrong. Many still remember when one wage earner was the norm. When two becomes the norm, folks don't much like it because no one's there for the kids. When two is the norm and they still can't get ahead, they vote for Donald Trump. Beyond that, they start fuckin some shit up.

 

[dismal]

Yup, which is why all these comparisons are bogus. Your average newly minted college graduate has a substantial negative net worth.

Yeah. How much debt is your nephew carrying? It's all about junior's net worth.

Bottom line is, if your system is supposedly set up so people can get ahead and the majority of the people are not getting ahead, something's wrong. Many still remember when one wage earner was the norm. When two becomes the norm, folks don't much like it because no one's there for the kids. When two is the norm and they still can't get ahead, they vote for Donald Trump. Beyond that, they start fuckin some shit up.

A majority of people are living better than people have lived in the history of mankind.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

Didn't say that at all. My comment reflects the overall trend, wealth distribution the rich [generally] getting richer. Of course there are exceptions.

Not necessarily either. The people who get rich get more money than in the time before. Not all people stay. The athletes who make their big contracts now aren't the ones that were playing decades ago.

Don't confuse wealth with rich.

“Shaq is rich. The white man that signs his check is wealthy,” said Rock. “I ain’t talking about Oprah; I’m talking about Bill Gates, ok? If Bill Gates woke up tomorrow with Oprah’s money, he’d jump out a f**cking window.”
“Wealth is passed down from generation to generation. You can’t get rid of wealth. Rich is some sh*t you can lose with a crazy summer and a drug habit.”

- - - Updated - - -

And you, all by yourself, own more than the bottom 2 billion combined! My nephew has more in his piggy bank than the bottom 2 billion. What should be done about this intolerable situation?

The result is that if you take the bottom 30% of the world’s population — the poorest 2 billion people in the world — their total aggregate net worth is not low, it’s not zero, it’s negative. To the tune of roughly half a trillion dollars. My niece, who just got her first 50 cents in pocket money, has more money than the poorest 2 billion people in the world combined.

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2014/04/04/stop-adding-up-the-wealth-of-the-poor/

And you think this is a good thing?

 

[DBT]

Yeah. How much debt is your nephew carrying? It's all about junior's net worth.

Bottom line is, if your system is supposedly set up so people can get ahead and the majority of the people are not getting ahead, something's wrong. Many still remember when one wage earner was the norm. When two becomes the norm, folks don't much like it because no one's there for the kids. When two is the norm and they still can't get ahead, they vote for Donald Trump. Beyond that, they start fuckin some shit up.

A majority of people are living better than people have lived in the history of mankind.

Not the point. Nor does it excuse the increasing disparity between the rich and the rest of society.

 

[barbos]

And you, all by yourself, own more than the bottom 2 billion combined! My nephew has more in his piggy bank than the bottom 2 billion. What should be done about this intolerable situation?

The result is that if you take the bottom 30% of the world’s population — the poorest 2 billion people in the world — their total aggregate net worth is not low, it’s not zero, it’s negative. To the tune of roughly half a trillion dollars. My niece, who just got her first 50 cents in pocket money, has more money than the poorest 2 billion people in the world combined.

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2014/04/04/stop-adding-up-the-wealth-of-the-poor/

Yeah, Lies, damned lies, and wealth statistics