Rolling out of bed this morning, I turned on the computer and was greeted with the New York Times latest story on wealth accumulation. Apparently a new UN report has found that the richest 1 percent of the globe owns about 40% of the worlds net-worth. Since you’re probably busy, I’ll quickly recap:
The top wealthiest countries are Japan, the United States, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Interestingly, the report’s authors actually say there is LESS inequality today than in 2000.
If China and India had not industrialized, the inequality index would have been higher.
Finally, the report suggests that some of the inequality is due to barriers in developing countries. This includes unclear property rights and undeveloped capital markets. In contrast, developed countries have created mechanisms for wealth accumulation such as 401k plans and have generally open financial markets.
The actual report is here, but you might want to wait a while. With all the media coverage the UN’s website is being overloaded (Kind of the like the DINKS on a good day…well, okay…not really).
Best,
James
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