THE combined wealth of the richest one per cent will soon overtake that of the rest of the world, according to Oxfam.
A research paper by the charity suggests the richest one per cent have seen their share of global assets rise from 44 per cent in 2009 to 48 per cent last year - with an average worth of £1.8m each. The figure is on track to exceed 50 per cent by 2016.
Below the richest fifth, 80 per cent of the world's population own just 5.5 per cent of wealth - an average of £2,500 each.
The research coincides with the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, of which Oxfam international executive director Winnie Byanyima is to co-chair.
She said: "Do we really want to live in a world where the one per cent own more than the rest of us combined? The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering and despite the issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast.
"In the past 12 months we have seen world leaders from President Obama to Christine Lagarde talk more about tackling extreme inequality but we are still waiting for many of them to walk the walk. It is time our leaders took on the powerful vested interests that stand in the way of a fairer and more prosperous world.
"Business as usual for the elite isn't a cost free option - failure to tackle inequality will set the fight against poverty back decades. The poor are hurt twice by rising inequality - they get a smaller share of the economic pie and because extreme inequality hurts growth, there is less pie to be shared around."
