1% has more money than the other 99% of the population combined. What’s even more shocking,

is that just 62 individuals have amassed the same amount of wealth as is possessed by half

of all the people on Earth. So, we wanted to know, just how rich is the 1%?

Well, the severity of the world’s wealth inequality is actually a relatively recent

development. Just six years ago in 2010, nearly 400 people controlled as much money as the

bottom 3-and-a-half billion. Today, those 400 are now just 62. Since the 2008 global

financial crisis, the poor have gotten considerably poorer, and the rich have exploded in wealth.

Today’s Top 62 have seen their assets increase by 44% while the bottom half of the population

has lost about 41% of their resources. The Top 62 now control nearly $1.8 trillion dollars,

about half a trillion more than they had in 2010.

But wealth inequality isn't only concentrated at the top. One report by Credit Suisse calculated

that although wealth inequality had been steadily dropping before the financial crisis, it has

rapidly reversed course in the years since 2009. The United States has seen more than

900 new millionaires just between 2014 and 2015, while median wealth in the US has stayed

constant.

So, what does it mean to be among the richest people in the world? Well, due to overwhelming

poverty worldwide, the top 10-percent starts at those with assets worth roughly 70,000

dollars. In developed, Western nations, this is generally considered a middle to upper-middle

class salary. Most homeowners would easily fall into this category. Narrowing it further,

many homeowners would actually fall into the 1% worldwide, which generally includes those

controlling more than 750,000 dollars in assets.

So how can the world rebalance this wealth inequality? Well, Oxfam recommends a number

of steps. They suggest raising wages, paid for by executive bonuses and to push for better

women’s rights and pay equality. Additionally, they recommend ending the revolving door between

wealthy elites and government. But, perhaps most importantly, they suggest closing the

world’s tax havens, which hold an estimated $7.6 trillion dollars, and do not contribute

back to the countries where that money came from.

Despite the global economic crisis being, in part, caused by risky financial decisions

by the banking and housing industries, many in those industries have seen their fortunes

skyrocket. The use of quantitative easing to stabilize the economy, involves governments

investing huge sums of money in banks. Much of that money has been sent into executive

bonuses and stock markets, which have risen dramatically since the recession further contributing

to the Top 62. Meanwhile, though they may be in the top 10-percent worldwide, those

who were left unable to pay their mortgages and lost their jobs as a result of the crisis

have seen little financial recourse.

America’s middle class has been through a lot over the past decade, with many suggesting

that it is slowly evaporating. So, just how powerful is the Middle Class? Check out our

video to find out. (sound up) Thanks for watching Test Tube News, don’t forget to like and

subscribe for new videos every day!