Drawing on data from the World Inequality Lab, the analysis showed that the world’s richest one percent have increased their average wealth by 1.3 million U.S. dollars since 2000, while the poorest 50 percent gained only 585 U.S. dollars, adjusted for inflation. Though income gaps between individuals have narrowed largely due to growth in China, the wealth divide between the Global North and South remains substantial.
“The world understands that we have a climate emergency; it is time we recognized that we face an inequality emergency too,” said Stiglitz, who chaired the six-member committee behind the report.
Much of the wealth at the top stems from “monopoly power and exploitation,” he said, adding that inequality is “not the laws of nature, but the laws of man.”
