Top 1% To Own More Than The Rest By 2016

The combined wealth of the richest 1 percent is set to overtake that of the other 99 percent of the world's population by 2016, the anti-poverty group Oxfam said on Monday. A recent Oxfam study found that global wealth for the richest 1 percent has climbed from 44 percent in 2009 to 48 percent in 2014, and is expected to increase to more than 50 percent by next year at the current growth rate. Of the remaining 52 percent of the world's wealth, nearly 46 percent is owned by the rest of the richest fifth of the global population, the report found. The remaining population owns just 5.5 percent of the global wealth, averaging wealth of $3,851 per adult in 2014, compared to the elite 1 percent's average of $2.7 million per adult last year. Oxfam executive director Winnie Byanyima will urge global leaders at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos this week to tackle global inequality through a seven point plan including cracking down on tax dodging by corporations and rich individuals, investing in free public services and introducing equal pay legislation.