The 62 people who are as wealthy as the poorest half of humanity combined
The wealth of the world’s poorest has fallen by a trillion US dollars since 2010
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Your support makes all the difference.Wealth inequality has grown to the point where 62 of the world’s wealthiest people are now richer than the poorest half of the planet, according to a new report.
Oxfam’s latest research found the wealth of the poorest 3.6 billion people has fallen by a trillion US dollars since 2010, accounting for 41 per cent of their overall wealth.
In contrast, the 62 richest people in the world have increased their wealth by more than half a trillion dollars, to a total of $1.76 trillion.
The chart above shows how the inequality gap has increased over the past five years.
Below is the full list of the 62 individuals:
1. Bill Gates
The creator of Microsoft is worth $79.2 billion.
2. Carlos Slim Helu
He is a self-made business man, worth $77.1 billion.
3. Warren Buffet
Warren buffet is the world's most successful investor and a businessman. Forbes rates him as being worth $72.7 billion.
4. Amancio Ortega
The Spanish business who set up the Zara chain of high-street shops is worth $64.5 billion.
5. Larry Ellison
The American entrepreneur has a fortune of $54.3 billion.
6. Charles Koch and David Koch
Next on the list is Charles Koch, along with brother David Koch of Koch Industries.
8. Christy Walton
The widow of John T. Walton, one of the sons of the founder of Walmart, is worth $41.7 billion.
9. Jim Walton
The youngest son of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, has a wealth of $40.6 billion.
10. Liliane Bettencourt
The French heiress and business woman, who is a shareholder in L'Oreal, has a wealth of $40.1 billion.
The other 52 people richest people, according to Forbes, are:
11. Alice Walton ($39.4 billion)
12. S. Robson Walton ($39.4 billion)
13. Bernard Arnault ($37.2 billion)
14. Michael Bloomeberg ($35.5 billion)
15. Jeff Bezos ($34.8 billion)
16. Mark Zuckerberg ($33.4 billion)
17. Li Ka-shing ($33.3 billion)
18. Sheldon Adelson ($34.4 billion)
19. Larry Page ($29.7 billion)
20. Sergy Brin ($29.2 billion)
21. Gerog Schaeffler ($26.9 billion)
22. Forrest Mars, Jr. ($26.6 billion)
22. Jacqueline Mars ($26.6 billion)
22. John Mars ($26.6 billion)
25. David Thomson ($25.5 billion)
26. Jorge Paulo Lemann ($25 billion)
27. Lee Shau Kee ($24.8 billion)
28. Stefan Persson ($24.5 billion)
29. George Soros ($24.2 billion)
29. Wang Jianlin $24.2 billion)
31. Car Ichan ($23.5 billion)
32. Maria Franca Fissolo ($23.4 billion)
33. Jack Ma ($22.7 billion)
34. Prince Alwaleed Bin Tala Alsaud ($22.6 billion)
35. Steve Ballmer (21.5 billion)
36. Phil Knight ($21.5 billion)
37. Beate Heister & Karl Albrecht Jr. ($21.3 billion)
38. Li Hejun ($21.1 billion)
39. Mukesh Ambani (21 billion)
40. Leonardo Del Vecchio ($20.4 billion)
41. Len Blavatnik ($20.2 billion)
41. Tadashi Yanai ($20.2 billion)
43. Charles Ergen ($20.1 billion)
44. Dilip shanghvi ($20 billion)
45. Laurene Powell Jobs ($19.5 billion)
46. Dieter Schwarz ($19.4 billion)
47. Michael Dell ($19.2 billion)
48. Azim Premji ($19.1 billion)
49. Theo Albrecht, Jr. ($19 billion)
50. Michael Otto ($18.1 billion)
51. Paul Allen ($17.5 billion)
52. Jospeh Safra ($17.3 billion)
53. Ann Cox Chambers ($17 billion)
54. Susanne Klatten ($16.8 billion)
55. Pallonji Mistry ($16. 3 billion)
56. Ma Huateng ($16.1 billion)
57. Patrick Drahi ($16 billion)
58. Thomas & Raymond Kwok ($15.9 billion)
59. Stefan Quandt ($15.6 billion)
60. Ray Dalio ($15.4 billion)
61. Vladimir Potanin (15.4 billion)
62 Serge Dassault (15.3 billion)
(Figures as produced by Forbes.com)
Mark Goldring, Oxfam GB Chief Executive, said: “It is simply unacceptable that the poorest half of the world population owns no more than a small group of the global super-rich - so few, you could fit them all on a single coach.
”World leaders' concern about the escalating inequality crisis has so far not translated into concrete action to ensure that those at the bottom get their fair share of economic growth.
"In a world where one in nine people go to bed hungry every night we cannot afford to carry on giving the richest an ever bigger slice of the cake.
“We need to end the era of tax havens which has allowed rich individuals and multinational companies to avoid their responsibilities to society by hiding ever increasing amounts of money offshore."
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