Report: Top 1 Percent Own 46 Percent of Global Wealth

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So much money in so little time.

Since 2000, global wealth has more than doubled to a total of $241 trillion, a new Credit Suisse report on global wealth says.

It’s a great study in how extreme wealth skews averages, too: “Average wealth per adult has also hit a new peak of 51,600 US dollars,” the study says. But the top 1 percent own 46 percent of global assets, and the top 10 percent own 86 percent. Meanwhile, Reuters notes that “two thirds of adults in the world have assets worth less than $10,000 and together account for just 3 percent of global wealth.”

Other study highlights include:

  • Global wealth will reach $334 trillion by 2018.
  • The average adult’s wealth in Switzerland is $513,000 — that’s in U.S. dollars, and it’s the highest in the world.
  • Since the middle of last year, the world gained nearly 2 million more millionaires, mainly from the U.S.
  • The report estimates that by 2073, there will be nearly 1 billion millionaires. That’s about 1 in 5 adults alive today, it says.
  • The report estimates that by 2073, there will also be 11 trillionaires. Count those zeroes: $1,000,000,000,000.

Who do you think the trillionaires will be? Mark Zuckerberg’s kids? The person who eventually invents the real-life Star Trek transporter? Comment below or on our Facebook page.

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