Dubai: Whatever you do, there’s always someone richer or better at making money. And in most societies, there are only a few who make the most - or essentially control much of the wealth on earth. In fact, in Oxfam’s study, it was found that the total fortunes of the top 62 richest people in the world are equivalent to the combined wealth of 3.6 billion people.
Income inequality is a fact of life, but there are still some places out there where the gap between the rich and the low-income earners is not so wide.
According to the latest research, Japan is the most equal in the world, with only 22 per cent of the fortunes being controlled by millionaires.
New World Wealth, which examined wealth distribution in major countries globally, said that the amount of fortunes held by dollar-millionaires, those who have Dh3.6 million or more in assets, in Japan is much lower than global average of 35 per cent.
“If millionaires control over 40 per cent of a country’s wealth, then there is very little space for a meaningful middle class. Ideally, the ratio should be less than 30 per cent,” New World Wealth said.
In this Asian country, there is only a small number of billionaires, about 30 of them as of the last count, well below the likes of United States, China, India, Russia and United Kingdom. Unlike in other markets, only three of the 30 billionaires in Japan are worth over $10 billion, while the wealthiest only has $16 billion in assets, well below the top ten wealthy people worldwide.
The second-most equal country in the world is New Zealand, where less than a third (26 per cent) of the total wealth is owned by very affluent individuals.
In Norway, millionaires’ fortunes account for 27 per cent of the country’s wealth, making it the third-most equal economy in the world.
The rich-poor divide is also not a serious concern in other countries like Australia, Canada, Germany and Sweden, where only a small portion (28 per cent) of the total wealth is owned by millionaires.
Denmark, South Korea and Finland emerged as the fifth-most equal country, with 29 per cent of the wealth being held by millionaires.
The gap between the rich and the low-income earners has been in focus for quite sometime, with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warning that higher inequality tends to drag down economic growth and harm opportunities.
“Beyond its impact on social cohesion, growing inequality is harmful for long-term economic growth,” the OECD said in its report.
A research paper published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that inequality is the “defining challenge” of economies worldwide. “A growing body of evidence suggests that rising influence of the rich and stagnant incomes of the poor and middle class have a causal effect on crises, and thus directly hurt short and long-term growth,” the paper noted.
Worldwide, Russia emerged as the most unequal country, with millionaires controlling over 62 per cent of total wealth there. Saudi Arabia has been named the second most unequal, will millionaires taking control of 58 per cent of total wealth there.
Not far behind is India, where millionaires own 54 per cent of the total wealth.
