Overview
- The World Inequality Lab’s new report says the top 10% hold 75% of global wealth and capture 53% of income, while the bottom half owns 2% and receives 8%.
- About 56,000 adults—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 risen about 8% per year, nearly twice the rate seen by the poorest half of the population.
- The authors propose a global minimum wealth tax, with illustrative rates of 2% to 5% on fortunes above $100 million, estimating revenues of 0.45% to 1.11% of world GDP.
- The report highlights political hurdles to implementation, noting France’s Parliament recently rejected the so‑called Zucman tax during budget deliberations.