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The Growing Wealth Gap

Despite the record breaking numbers at the top, the UBS report highlights a nuanced and complex reality regarding the distribution of prosperity. The study revealed that while average wealth figures climbed across the board, median wealth, which serves as a more accurate reflection of a typical household, actually fell in the majority of countries tracked.

There is also a clear divergence in how quickly different wealth tiers are growing. Households worth between 5 million dollars and 100 million dollars have experienced the most rapid wealth growth since the turn of the millennium, with their inflation adjusted wealth rising at an average rate of 6.1 percent per year. By contrast, households in the 1 million to 5 million dollar range saw a more modest average annual growth of 4 percent.

However, it is important to acknowledge the long term progress in poverty reduction. The share of adults globally with less than 10,000 dollars in total wealth has dropped significantly, falling from nearly 75 percent in the year 2000 to just over 41 percent today. Currently, approximately 1.5 percent of adults in the nations and territories surveyed now possess at least 1 million dollars in wealth. This data illustrates a world where, while the ultra wealthy continue to pull away, the floor for global household wealth is slowly but surely rising.