The economies of the world are growing, but the bulk of this growing wealth is concentrated in the hands of a very small segment of the population. In many countries, the top 0.1 percent own a large share of the total wealth. In India the share is about 30 percent, while in China it is 17 percent and in Britain it is about 9 percent. The US picture is also interesting, where the total wealth of the top 0.1 percent of the rich has reached about Rs 26.84 lakh crore.
The wealth of America’s richest 0.1 percent more than doubled at the end of 2019 to Rs. 26.84 lakh crores. According to Federal Reserve data, this increase is about Rs. 9.59 lakh crore was contributed by rise in share and mutual fund prices. The group now owns about 15 percent of America’s total wealth.
To join America’s top 0.1 percent of the rich in 2022, at least Rs. 439 crore assets were required. Since then with the increase in wealth this limit has also been increased. On an average, a family in this group has assets worth over Rs 1,917 crore.
The top 0.1% in India owns about 30% of the wealth.
In contrast to the US data, the World Inequality Database (WID) estimates for 2024 for other countries, including India, are used here. According to this, about 29.69 percent of the total wealth in India is held by the richest 0.1 percent.
India ranks third in this regard among the 27 countries of WID. Above India is Russia, where the top 0.1 percent owns 32.21 percent of total wealth. In South Africa this share is 29.95 percent.
In India, on the other hand, 80 percent of the population owns about 22.92 percent of the total wealth. That is, the distribution of wealth between a large section of the population and the richest section is quite unequal.
The top 0.1% own 17% of the wealth in China
In China, the richest 0.1 percent own about 17 percent of the total wealth. This is much lower than India’s 29.69 percent. This means that even in China’s large economy, a significant share of wealth is held by a very small section of the population, but the share of the top 0.1 percent is less than in India.
The top 0.1% own about 9% of the wealth in Britain.
Wealth distribution in Britain shows a different picture than India, China and the US. According to WID’s 2024 projections, Britain’s richest 0.1 percent own about 9 percent of total wealth.
Thus, if we look at the wealth share of the top 0.1 percent in these four countries, it is about 30 percent in India, 17 percent in China and about 9 percent in Britain. According to the Federal Reserve for America, the top 0.1 percent owns about 15 percent of all wealth.
Russia is on top of 27 countries
Among WID’s 27-country data, the top 0.1 percent in Russia has the largest share of total wealth at 32.21 percent. This is followed by South Africa with 29.95 percent and India with 29.69 percent.
The wealth gap is even greater in South Africa. There the bottom 80 percent of the population owns only 4.70 percent of the total wealth. That means there is a huge disparity in the distribution of wealth between the top 0.1 percent and the rest of the population.
These data show that despite economic growth and increases in total wealth, the distribution of wealth varies significantly across countries. In the US, rising stock market and mutual fund prices played an important role in increasing the wealth of the richest class, while in countries like India, the majority of total wealth is held by the top 0.1 percent.
