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Global Inequality Report: Top 10% Now Own 75% of Wealth

Economists urge a coordinated minimum levy on large fortunes to counter the rapid rise of extreme wealth.

Overview

  • The report comes from the Laboratoire sur les inégalités mondiales, affiliated with the Paris School of Economics and led by Thomas Piketty, Lucas Chancel, Ricardo Gómez‑Carrera and Rowaida Moshrif, synthesizing work from more than 200 researchers.
  • The top decile receives 53% of global income and owns 75% of global wealth, while the poorest half receives 8% of income and holds 2% of wealth.
  • About 56,000 adults in the top 0.001% now control more than 6% of global wealth, up from roughly 4% in 1995.
  • Since the 1990s, the wealth of billionaires and centi‑millionaires has grown about 8% annually, nearly twice the pace experienced by the poorest half of adults.
  • The authors say the wealthiest pay proportionally less in taxes and propose a global minimum wealth tax on billionaires and centi‑millionaires that could raise 0.45% to 1.11% of global GDP, noting recent political resistance such as the French Parliament’s rejection of a proposed Zucman tax.