From: Jurriaan Bendien (adsl675281@TISCALI.NL)
Date: Thu Dec 07 2006 - 12:44:28 EST
World's richest 1% own 40% of all wealth, UN report discovers James Randerson, science correspondent Wednesday December 6, 2006 The Guardian The richest 1% of adults in the world own 40% of the planet's wealth, according to the largest study yet of wealth distribution. The report also finds that those in financial services and the internet sectors predominate among the super rich. Europe, the US and some Asia Pacific nations account for most of the extremely wealthy. More than a third live in the US. Japan accounts for 27% of the total, the UK for 6% and France for 5%. The UK is also third in terms of per capita wealth. UK residents are found to have on average $127,000 (£64,000) each in assets, with Japanese and American citizens having, respectively, $181,000 and $144,000. All data relate to the year 2000. The global study - from the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations - is the first to chart wealth distribution in every country as opposed to just income, for which more comprehensive date is available. It included all the most significant components of household wealth, including financial assets and debts, land, buildings and other tangible property. Together these total $125 trillion globally. Anthony Shorrocks, director of the research institute at the United Nations University, in New York, led the study. He affirmed that the existence of a nest egg provided an insurance policy that helped people cope with unforeseen events such as ill health or a lost job. Capital allowed people to drag themselves out of poverty, he added. "In some ways, wealth is more important to people in poorer countries than in richer countries." It was more difficult in developing countries to set up a business because it was harder to borrow start-up funds, he said. His team used detailed data from 38 countries, but had to rely on incomplete information from the rest. The report found the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total of global assets. Half the world's adult population, however, owned barely 1% of global wealth. Near the bottom of the list were India, with per capita wealth of $1,100, and Indonesia with assets per head of $1,400. Complete story: http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1965149,00.html Press release: http://www.wider.unu.edu/research/2006-2007/2006-2007-1/wider-wdhw-launch-5-12-2006/wider-wdhw-press-release-5-12-2006.pdf The report: http://www.wider.unu.edu/research/2006-2007/2006-2007-1/wider-wdhw-launch-5-12-2006/wider-wdhw-report-5-12-2006.pdf (according to BBC radio I heard, there's a good 10,000 Indonesians in Atjeh still living in tents and so on. Why? Because the tsunami destroyed any evidence they had, which could prove they actually had title to the property they were previously living on... so much for the power of property in regulating our lives!). Jurriaan
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sun Dec 31 2006 - 00:00:04 EST