Distribution of wealth facts for kids

Global share of wealth by wealth group, Credit Suisse, 2021

World distribution of wealth, GDP, and population by region in the year 2000. Created with openoffice.org Calc. Data obtained from the UNU-WIDER report on worldwide distribution of household wealth: Press release. The World Distribution of Household Wealth. December 5, 2006. By James B. Davies, Susanna Sandstrom, Anthony Shorrocks, and Edward N. Wolff. Tables to the 2006 report in Excel (including Gini coefficients for 229 countries). UNU-WIDER.

The distribution of wealth looks at how wealth is shared among different people or groups in a society. It helps us understand how much economic inequality there is.

Wealth distribution is different from income distribution. Income is about the money people earn regularly, like from a job. Wealth is about what people own, like houses, savings, or investments, minus any debts they have. Experts say that wealth is usually much more unevenly shared than income.

You can find rankings of wealth distribution for different countries by looking at lists like list of countries by wealth equality.

What is Wealth?

For a person, wealth is their net worth. This means: Wealth = What you own (like money, property) − What you owe (like loans or mortgages).

Sometimes, a broader idea of wealth is used. For example, the United Nations talks about inclusive wealth. This includes natural resources, people's skills (human capital), and physical things like buildings.

Your wealth changes based on how much you save. Saving is your income minus your expenses. If someone earns a lot but also spends a lot, their wealth might not grow much.

How We Measure Wealth Distribution

There are different ways to look at how wealth is shared. One way is to compare the wealth of the richest people to the wealth of average people. For example, we might look at how much wealth the top 1% of people have compared to everyone else.

In many societies, the richest 10% of people own more than half of all the wealth. The Pareto distribution is a math idea often used to describe this. It suggests that a small percentage of people hold a large percentage of the wealth. For instance, the top 20% might own 80% of the wealth.

Wealth over people (WOP) curves are a visual way to show wealth distribution. Imagine lining up everyone in a country from richest to poorest. The curve shows how their wealth compares to the average wealth of the richest people.

In a perfectly equal society, everyone would have the same wealth. In a very unequal society, a few people would have almost all the wealth, and most people would have very little. The Gini coefficient is a number that helps us measure this inequality.

Why Wealth Distribution Matters

Understanding wealth distribution helps us see how money and resources are spread out. Early studies often used tax records to see how unequal wealth was. They found that inheriting money played a big part in how wealth was passed down through families.

More recently, studies look at why individuals have different amounts of wealth. This includes how much people save for retirement. New data also helps researchers understand how personal and household details affect wealth differences.

Wealth Inequality Around the World

A homeless individual sleeping on the street, next to a limousine

Wealth inequality means that wealth is not shared evenly among people. Even in ancient times, archaeologists can see wealth differences by looking at house sizes. Larger houses often belonged to wealthier families. Studies show that ancient wealth differences were greater in places like Eurasia than in North America.

Global Wealth Statistics

Share of wealth globally by year, as seen by Oxfam, based on the net worth

A study by the United Nations University found that in 2000, the richest 1% of adults owned 40% of all global assets. The richest 10% owned 85% of the world's total wealth. The poorest half of the world's adults owned only 1% of global wealth.

In 2012, the top 0.6% of the world's population (people with over US$1 million in assets) held 39.3% of global wealth. The next 4.4% held 32.3%. This means the richest 5% of people owned over 70% of the world's wealth. The remaining 95% of people shared less than 30%.

A 2021 Oxfam report showed that the 10 richest men in the world owned more wealth than the poorest 3.1 billion people combined. Their wealth even doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 'Global Wealth Report 2021' by Credit Suisse showed that wealth inequality increased a lot in 2020. The richest 1.1% of adults owned 45.8% of all wealth. This was an increase of 4.8% since 2013. The poorest half of the world's adults owned only 1.3% of the total wealth, a decrease from 2013.

One reason for this increase in inequality is the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit Suisse believes the pandemic hurt the lowest wealth groups, making them spend savings or go into debt. Richer groups were less affected and even benefited from lower interest rates, which increased the value of their stocks and houses.

In 2020, there were 56 million millionaires worldwide. The United States had the most, with 22 million millionaires (about 39% of the world's total). China was second with 9.4%, and Japan was third with 6.6%.

Real Estate and Wealth

Owning land is a big part of wealth. For example, in Baltimore, Maryland, the top 10% of land owners (mostly companies) own 58% of the land's value. The bottom 10% of land owners own less than 1%. This shows how land ownership can also be very unequal.

The Wealth Pyramid

Pyramid of global wealth distribution in 2013

In 2013, Credit Suisse created a wealth pyramid to show global wealth distribution. It showed that:

• Half of the world's total wealth belonged to the top 1% of adults.
• The top 10% of adults held 85% of the world's total wealth.
• The bottom 90% held only 15%.
• About 3.2 billion people (more than two-thirds of adults) had wealth below US$10,000.

Wealth Pyramid in 2020

In 2020, Credit Suisse updated its wealth pyramid.

• About 2.88 billion people (55% of adults) had wealth below US$10,000.
• 1.7 billion people (38.2% of adults) had wealth between US$10,000 and US$100,000.
• 583 million people had wealth between US$100,000 and US$1,000,000.
• About 56 million people (1.1% of adults) had wealth over US$1,000,000.

Comparing 2013 and 2020

The 2020 pyramid showed some big changes. For the first time, more than 1% of adults were millionaires. Credit Suisse explained that the pandemic caused economic changes that benefited those with financial assets. The number of people in the US$10,000 to US$100,000 group grew a lot, especially due to growing economies like China.

Future Wealth Trends (2020-2025)

The 'Global Wealth Report 2021' predicted that global wealth would increase by 39% by 2025. The number of millionaires was also expected to grow significantly, possibly exceeding 84 million by 2025. This growth is expected in both developed and developing countries, with China seeing a very large increase in millionaires.

Gini Coefficient Explained

The Gini coefficient is a number from 0 to 1 (or 0% to 100%) that measures inequality.

• A Gini coefficient of 0 means perfect equality: everyone has the same wealth.
• A Gini coefficient of 1 (or 100%) means extreme inequality: one person has all the wealth, and everyone else has none.

According to the Credit Suisse 'Global Wealth Report 2021', Brunei had the highest Gini coefficient in 2021 (91.6%), meaning its wealth distribution was very unequal. Slovakia had the lowest (50.3%), making it the most equal country in terms of wealth distribution. The report noted an increasing trend of wealth inequality since 2019, possibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click at right to show/hide table with detailed statistics

Country Adults (In 1,000) Wealth per adult (USD) Distribution of adults (%) by wealth range (USD) Gini (%) Mean Median Under 10k 10k – 100k 100k – 1M Over 1M Afghanistan 18,356 1,744 734 97.6 2.4 0.1 0.0 72.8 Albania 2,187 30,524 15,363 41.0 54.2 4.7 0.1 68.2 Algeria 27,620 8,871 2,302 87.0 11.7 1.2 0.1 84.8 Angola 14,339 3,529 1,131 93.5 6.2 0.2 0.0 80.6 Argentina 30,799 7,224 2,157 88.2 11.2 0.6 0.0 81.2 Armenia 2,176 22,573 9,411 52.3 44.0 3.5 0.1 73.0 Australia 19,159 483,755 238,072 9.8 20.7 60.0 9.4 65.6 Austria 7,271 290,348 91,833 14.2 36.9 44.1 4.8 73.5 Azerbaijan 7,155 11,926 5,022 73.5 25.2 1.3 0.0 72.7 Bahamas 278 56,737 7,507 54.0 39.7 5.7 0.6 91.4 Bahrain 1,318 87,559 14,520 45.0 48.0 6.1 0.9 88.9 Bangladesh 106,060 7,837 3,062 84.6 14.6 0.7 0.0 75.2 Barbados 221 63,261 21,071 41.0 46.0 12.4 0.6 80.4 Belarus 7,367 23,278 12,168 45.9 51.3 2.8 0.1 66.7 Belgium 8,993 351,327 230,548 11.9 20.1 62.3 5.7 60.3 Belize 245 10,364 3,015 82.0 16.6 1.4 0.0 83.4 Benin 5,839 2,558 890 95.6 4.3 0.1 0.0 78.2 Bolivia 7,088 12,286 3,804 78.1 20.5 1.3 0.1 81.0 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2,637 30,597 15,283 41.0 54.1 4.8 0.1 68.6 Botswana 1,358 15,598 3,680 80.0 16.8 3.1 0.1 87.3 Brazil 153,307 18,272 3,469 79.5 17.5 2.8 0.1 89.0 British Caribbean 567 45,109 14,684 44.0 47.7 7.9 0.4 80.8 Brunei 309 39,098 5,122 64.0 32.1 3.5 0.4 91.6 Bulgaria 5,586 36,443 17,403 38.7 54.9 6.2 0.2 70.1 Burkina Faso 9,480 1,681 622 98.0 1.9 0.1 0.0 76.8 Burundi 5,381 728 281 99.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 75.1 Cambodia 10,180 5,895 2,031 90.7 8.7 0.6 0.0 78.7 Cameroon 12,716 3,042 941 94.3 5.5 0.2 0.0 81.6 Canada 29,934 332,323 125,688 20.7 25.1 48.6 5.6 71.9 Central African Republic 2,161 840 212 98.8 1.2 0.0 0.0 85.9 Chad 7,059 1,117 355 98.7 1.3 0.1 0.0 80.6 Chile 14,259 53,591 17,747 39.1 51.6 8.8 0.5 79.7 China 1,104,956 67,771 24,067 20.9 66.1 12.5 0.5 70.4 Colombia 35,612 16,928 4,854 72.0 25.4 2.5 0.1 82.7 Comoros 447 5,397 1,466 91.5 7.9 0.6 0.0 84.8 Congo, Dem. Rep. 39,740 1,240 356 98.3 1.6 0.1 0.0 83.2 Congo, Rep. 2,707 2,180 582 95.6 4.2 0.1 0.0 84.7 Costa Rica 3,696 44,337 14,662 44.0 47.4 8.4 0.3 79.9 Croatia 3,303 69,140 34,945 27.0 57.0 15.5 0.5 68.5 Cyprus 679 142,304 35,300 23.0 57.0 18.3 1.7 80.7 Czechia 8,528 78,103 23,794 29.6 55.7 14.0 0.7 77.7 Denmark 4,557 376,069 165,622 15.4 25.4 52.5 6.7 73.6 Djibouti 618 3,112 1,077 94.0 6.0 0.0 0.0 78.8 Dutch Caribbean 258 40,909 16,810 40.0 52.7 7.1 0.2 69.1 Ecuador 11,361 17,151 5,444 69.9 27.9 2.1 0.1 80.8 Egypt 59,547 19,468 6,329 66.5 30.7 2.6 0.1 79.2 El Salvador 4,201 34,003 11,372 47.6 46.0 6.2 0.2 79.1 Equatorial Guinea 776 18,246 4,561 77.0 18.8 4.1 0.1 86.3 Eritrea 1,728 2,846 1,086 95.2 4.7 0.1 0.0 75.7 Estonia 1,044 77,817 38,901 30.5 53.5 15.3 0.7 73.8 Ethiopia 57,104 3,540 1,527 94.4 5.4 0.2 0.0 71.1 Fiji 564 15,708 5,764 69.0 28.3 2.6 0.1 77.4 Finland 4,373 167,711 73,775 27.8 35.2 35.1 1.9 74.0 France 49,967 299,355 133,559 14.8 27.0 53.3 4.9 70.0 French Caribbean 631 68,443 23,740 36.0 44.0 19.5 0.5 73.8 Gabon 1,216 13,696 4,685 74.0 24.5 1.4 0.1 79.3 Gambia 1,115 2,500 658 94.9 4.9 0.2 0.0 84.9 Georgia 2,959 14,162 4,223 77.7 20.7 1.5 0.1 81.3 Germany 68,015 268,681 65,374 10.6 45.2 39.8 4.3 77.9 Ghana 16,617 6,132 2,198 88.5 11.1 0.4 0.0 77.5 Greece 8,462 104,603 57,595 22.1 49.3 27.7 0.9 65.7 Guinea 6,078 2,942 938 94.5 5.4 0.2 0.0 80.8 Guinea-Bissau 949 1,828 670 97.0 3.0 0.0 0.0 77.6 Guyana 497 12,280 4,637 74.0 24.6 1.4 0.0 76.5 Haiti 6,621 767 193 99.2 0.7 0.0 0.0 85.2 Hong Kong 6,292 503,335 173,768 13.7 23.7 54.3 8.3 74.6 Hungary 7,769 53,664 24,126 21.4 67.6 10.7 0.3 66.5 Iceland 255 337,787 231,462 6.0 18.0 70.7 5.3 50.9 India 900,443 14,252 3,194 77.2 21.1 1.7 0.1 82.3 Indonesia 180,782 17,693 4,693 67.2 30.8 1.9 0.1 77.7 Iran 57,987 22,249 7,621 59.1 37.1 3.7 0.1 78.6 Iraq 21,247 14,506 6,378 68.3 30.1 1.6 0.1 71.0 Ireland 3,619 266,153 99,028 30.8 19.7 44.5 5.0 80.0 Israel 5,626 228,268 80,315 15.8 41.2 40.1 2.9 73.4 Italy 49,746 239,244 118,885 15.5 30.1 51.4 3.0 66.5 Jamaica 2,041 19,893 5,976 66.7 30.3 2.9 0.1 82.0 Japan 104,953 256,596 122,980 11.0 32.6 52.9 3.5 64.4 Jordan 5,866 28,316 10,842 48.3 47.1 4.5 0.2 75.9 Kazakhstan 12,226 33,463 12,029 46.3 49.3 4.2 0.2 76.4 Kenya 27,473 12,313 3,683 79.6 18.8 1.5 0.1 82.2 Korea, South 42,490 211,369 89,671 14.8 38.3 44.4 2.5 67.6 Kuwait 3,146 129,890 28,698 42.8 44.0 10.7 2.5 86.5 Kyrgyzstan 3,927 5,816 2,238 89.7 9.8 0.5 0.0 75.7 Laos 4,288 7,379 1,610 91.6 7.0 1.3 0.0 87.9 Latvia 1,477 70,454 33,884 36.0 50.5 12.7 0.8 80.9 Lebanon 4,548 55,007 18,159 40.6 50.5 8.4 0.5 79.7 Lesotho 1,243 1,226 264 97.8 2.2 0.1 0.0 88.6 Liberia 2,502 4,453 1,464 91.9 7.8 0.3 0.0 80.1 Libya 4,440 17,198 6,512 67.0 31.0 1.9 0.1 76.0 Lithuania 2,166 63,500 29,679 29.3 58.0 12.2 0.5 71.0 Luxembourg 498 477,306 259,899 13.0 19.0 59.2 8.8 67.0 Madagascar 13,812 1,962 666 96.9 3.0 0.1 0.0 79.3 Malawi 8,887 2,045 606 96.2 3.7 0.1 0.0 82.4 Malaysia 22,315 29,287 8,583 55.0 41.1 3.7 0.2 82.9 Maldives 409 25,511 8,519 56.0 39.3 4.5 0.2 79.8 Mali 8,625 2,424 869 96.0 3.9 0.1 0.0 77.6 Malta 358 148,934 84,390 13.0 45.0 40.6 1.4 61.7 Mauritania 2,370 2,788 1,037 95.2 4.7 0.1 0.0 76.3 Mauritius 968 63,372 27,456 31.0 56.0 12.5 0.5 72.1 Melanesia 711 31,106 12,183 46.0 48.6 5.2 0.2 75.8 Mexico 85,136 42,689 13,752 44.7 46.9 8.1 0.3 80.5 Micronesia 341 13,193 4,876 74.0 23.9 2.1 0.0 77.9 Moldova 3,188 15,491 7,577 61.8 36.5 1.7 0.0 69.4 Mongolia 2,053 6,324 2,546 88.0 11.5 0.5 0.0 74.4 Montenegro 476 60,310 30,739 29.0 57.0 13.6 0.4 68.4 Morocco 24,654 13,459 3,874 78.4 19.7 1.9 0.1 81.9 Mozambique 14,186 1,003 345 98.9 1.0 0.1 0.0 79.1 Myanmar 35,734 5,025 2,458 91.7 8.0 0.3 0.0 67.0 Namibia 1,375 15,294 3,677 80.5 16.4 3.0 0.1 86.6 Nepal 17,887 4,056 1,437 93.3 6.3 0.3 0.0 78.1 Netherlands 13,462 377,092 136,105 13.6 29.4 49.3 7.7 75.3 New Zealand 3,600 348,198 171,624 21.2 20.0 52.5 6.3 69.9 Nicaragua 4,107 12,239 3,694 78.2 20.5 1.3 0.1 81.0 Niger 9,739 1,287 492 98.7 1.3 0.1 0.0 75.6 Nigeria 95,931 6,451 1,474 91.7 7.6 0.7 0.0 85.8 Norway 4,184 275,880 117,798 28.0 19.0 48.8 4.2 78.5 Oman 3,765 39,434 9,886 50.5 43.1 6.0 0.4 86.7 Pakistan 123,522 5,258 2,187 90.5 9.2 0.4 0.0 73.2 Panama 2,843 43,979 13,147 45.3 46.6 7.8 0.3 82.5 Papua New Guinea 4,941 6,710 1,790 91.3 7.7 1.0 0.0 84.3 Paraguay 4,454 11,962 3,644 78.8 19.9 1.2 0.1 81.6 Peru 22,530 17,017 5,445 70.4 27.4 2.1 0.1 80.1 Philippines 66,960 15,290 3,155 83.1 14.8 2.0 0.1 86.9 Poland 30,315 67,477 23,550 19.8 64.8 14.9 0.5 70.7 Polynesia 423 37,998 14,076 44.0 49.3 6.4 0.3 77.9 Portugal 8,339 142,537 61,306 23.2 45.1 30.0 1.6 70.5 Qatar 2,396 146,730 83,680 12.0 45.3 41.7 1.0 58.1 Romania 15,208 50,009 23,675 32.1 58.5 9.1 0.3 70.1 Russia 111,845 27,162 5,431 72.8 23.8 3.1 0.2 87.8 Rwanda 6,581 4,188 1,266 92.8 6.9 0.3 0.0 81.9 Sao Tome and Principe 104 4,029 1,702 92.4 7.3 0.2 0.0 73.1 Saudi Arabia 24,186 68,697 15,495 46.4 44.4 8.2 1.0 86.7 Senegal 7,975 4,702 1,570 91.4 8.3 0.3 0.0 79.7 Serbia 5,480 31,705 14,954 41.7 52.9 5.3 0.1 70.6 Seychelles 69 63,427 24,651 36.0 51.0 12.5 0.5 75.9 Sierra Leone 3,937 995 370 99.0 0.9 0.0 0.0 76.7 Singapore 4,887 332,995 86,717 16.2 38.6 39.7 5.5 78.3 Slovakia 4,346 68,059 45,853 11.6 69.8 18.4 0.2 50.3 Slovenia 1,672 120,173 67,961 18.0 53.0 28.2 0.8 67.1 South Africa 37,590 20,308 4,523 75.8 20.2 3.9 0.2 88.0 Spain 37,798 227,122 105,831 16.7 31.6 48.6 3.0 69.2 Sri Lanka 14,732 23,832 8,802 54.3 42.0 3.7 0.1 76.8 Sudan 21,941 1,014 383 99.0 0.9 0.1 0.0 75.9 Suriname 382 5,644 1,349 91.2 8.1 0.7 0.0 87.1 Sweden 7,794 336,166 89,846 34.0 18.4 40.3 7.3 87.2 Switzerland 6,958 673,962 146,733 11.9 33.7 43.2 11.2 78.1 Syria 10,811 2,197 807 96.3 3.6 0.1 0.0 77.2 Taiwan 19,633 238,862 93,044 13.9 38.6 44.4 3.1 70.8 Tajikistan 5,227 4,390 1,844 92.4 7.3 0.3 0.0 73.1 Tanzania 27,744 3,647 1,433 93.7 6.1 0.2 0.0 74.5 Thailand 54,054 25,292 8,036 55.5 41.9 2.5 0.2 77.1 Timor-Leste 689 5,185 2,838 91.4 8.3 0.3 0.0 62.6 Togo 4,084 1,484 468 98.0 2.0 0.1 0.0 81.2 Trinidad and Tobago 1,032 44,182 15,649 42.5 49.0 8.2 0.3 78.0 Tunisia 8,207 17,550 6,177 67.4 30.2 2.3 0.1 77.8 Turkey 57,768 27,466 8,001 57.6 38.8 3.4 0.2 81.8 Turkmenistan 3,722 20,328 9,030 54.0 43.2 2.7 0.1 70.6 Uganda 19,830 1,994 646 96.6 3.3 0.1 0.0 80.4 Ukraine 34,639 13,104 2,529 79.1 19.5 1.3 0.1 84.4 United Arab Emirates 8,053 115,476 21,613 45.1 46.0 6.8 2.1 88.8 United Kingdom 52,568 290,754 131,522 18.0 27.8 49.5 4.7 71.7 United States 249,969 505,421 79,274 26.3 28.5 36.4 8.8 85.0 Uruguay 2,530 60,914 22,088 37.0 51.3 11.2 0.4 77.2 Venezuela 18,359 21,040 7,341 60.5 36.8 2.5 0.1 78.1 Vietnam 68,565 14,075 4,559 76.3 21.9 1.8 0.1 80.2 Yemen 15,281 5,581 1,223 93.0 6.2 0.8 0.0 88.0 Zambia 8,331 3,068 692 94.3 5.5 0.2 0.0 87.7 Zimbabwe 7,086 7,131 2,356 86.9 12.5 0.6 0.0 79.8

Wealth Across Different Regions

Wealth is not spread evenly across the world. In the past, it was mostly found in rich countries like the G8 nations and some Asian and OPEC countries. Today, the United States leads with 30.2% of global wealth, and wealth is still concentrated in developed countries and some Asia-Pacific and OPEC nations.

Countries by total wealth (trillions USD), Credit Suisse

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  World distribution of wealth by country (PPP)

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  World distribution of wealth by region (PPP)

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  World distribution of wealth by country (exchange rates)

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  World distribution of wealth by region (exchange rates)

Worlds regions by total wealth (in trillions USD), 2018

Wealth by World Region

Wealth in the United States

Net personal wealth in the U.S. since 1962, and across age groups

The average personal wealth of people in the top 1% is more than a thousand times that of people in bottom 50%.

The logarithmic scale shows how wealth has increased for all percentile groups, though moreso for wealthier people.

Average net worth—which heavily weights extremely high-wealth families—substantially exceeds median net worth (families in the fiftieth percentile). Further, average net worth outgrew median net worth from 2019 through 2022.

Though the 10th percentile of American households have zero net worth, the 90th percentile has $1.6 million of household wealth.

Higher educational attainment in the US correlates with higher household wealth.

Median wealth of married couples is almost three times that of single individuals, regardless of gender and across all age categories.

In 2011, the 400 richest Americans had more wealth than half of all Americans combined. Many rich Americans got a "substantial head start" from inherited wealth. In 2012, over 60% of the Forbes 400 Richest Americans grew up with significant advantages.

In 2007, the richest 1% of Americans owned 34.6% of the country's total wealth. The next 19% owned 50.5%. This meant the top 20% of Americans owned 85% of the country's wealth, while the bottom 80% owned only 15%.

After the Great Recession that started in 2007, the share of wealth owned by the top 1% grew to 37.1%. The wealth of the top 20% grew to 87.7%. The recession caused a big drop in wealth for average households, but a much smaller drop for the richest 1%. This made the gap between the 1% and the 99% even wider.

Studies show that most US citizens don't realize how unequal wealth distribution is. They would prefer a more equal distribution.

Trends in the distribution of family wealth, 1989 to 2022. Congressional Budget Office.

How Wealth Becomes Concentrated

Wealth concentration is when wealth gathers in the hands of a few people or groups. Those who already have wealth can invest it to make even more wealth. This helps them get richer.

Economic Factors in Wealth Concentration

Global share of wealth by wealth group

For wealth to become concentrated, two main things are needed. First, wealth must already be unevenly distributed. Second, this small difference must grow bigger over time. This is like a positive feedback loop in economics. Studies show that even by chance, wealth can become very concentrated, with a few people owning almost 100% of it.

Being Rich and Earning More

Several ideas explain why wealth gets concentrated:

• Being rich helps you earn more: Wealthy people might have better chances for high-paying jobs, like going to top schools.
• Earning more helps you get rich: People with high incomes can save more, which helps them build wealth.
• Rich people can influence rules: Wealthy people might use their influence to change laws in ways that benefit them, increasing their wealth even more. An example is how political campaigns are funded in some countries.

These reasons can work together, making wealth concentration even stronger. Some experts believe that the very rich are "waging class warfare" on the rest of society, and they are winning.

How Governments Can Affect Wealth Distribution

Many societies have tried to redistribute wealth. This can be done through property redistribution, taxation, or regulation. Sometimes, this is to help the rich, and other times it's to reduce economic inequality.

For example, in ancient Rome, laws were made to limit how much land one family could own. Reasons for limiting wealth include wanting everyone to have a fair chance, fearing that too much wealth leads to corruption, or trying to gain political support. Different forms of socialism aim to reduce unequal wealth distribution and the problems it causes.

During the Age of Enlightenment, Francis Bacon wrote that it's good policy for money not to be "gathered into a few hands." He said, "Money is like fertilizer, not good except it be spread."

The rise of Communism was partly due to extreme wealth differences. A few people lived in luxury, while many lived in extreme poverty. However, in modern times, a mix of labor movements, new technology, and social liberalism has reduced extreme poverty in many developed countries. Still, big differences between rich and poor remain in some parts of the world.

The World Economic Forum's 2014 report listed widening income differences as a major global risk. Studies also show that countries with high income inequality and weak support for the unemployed often have worse mental health outcomes for those without jobs.

See also

• Wealth inequality in the United States
• Wealth distribution in Europe
• Distributive justice
• Gini coefficient
• Social mobility
• Economic inequality
• List of countries by wealth inequality