The share of global wealth of the world’s richest people soared at a record pace during the Covid pandemic, a report on inequality showed on Tuesday.
Since 1995, the slice held by billionaires has risen from 1% to 3%, according to the World Inequality Report.
“This increase was exacerbated during the COVID pandemic. In fact, 2020 marked the steepest increase in global billionaires’ share of wealth on record,” the document said.
The club of the richest 1% has taken more than a third of all additional wealth accumulated since 1995, while the bottom 50% captured just 2%.
“After more than 18 months of COVID-19, the world is even more polarised,” Lucas Chancel, co-director of the World Inequality Lab at the Paris School of Economics, said.
“While the wealth of billionaires rose by more than $4 trillion, 100 million more people joined the ranks of extreme poverty,” Mr. Chancel said.
