Yahoo Finance Australia’s wealthiest richer than half the population
Australia’s richest people have more money than half of Australia’s population.
A new report released by Oxfam Australia has found that unequal wealth distribution in Australia is rife with one per cent of Australia’s richest owning more money than 60 per cent of the nation’s population.
The report also found that on a global scale, the 85 wealthiest people are as are rich as the 3.5 billion poorest combined – which is half the world’s population.
According to the report, Australia’s nine richest individuals have a net worth that exceeds that of the bottom 20 per cent of Australians.
Related: Billionaires who started from scratch
Gina Rinehart, Ivan Glasenberg and Frank Lowy are at the top of the list, which in total has a net worth of $58.6 billion (US$54.8 billion), more than the wealth of 4.54 million of our population.
And Australians are less than thrilled by these findings.
An Oxfam poll found that 70 per cent of Australians think the distribution of wealth is unfair while 76 per cent of those surveyed believe the mega-rich aren’t paying enough tax.
Oxfam Australia Chief Executive Helen Szoke said the numbers were a shocking reminder that the wealth gap in Australia is stark and needs to be addressed by the government.
“Oxfam’s poll results show that inequality is clearly on the minds of many Australians,” Dr Szoke said.
Related: College dropout turns worm poop into millions
Dr Szoke said that as president of the G20 this year, Australia had a chance to act on the issue of inequality.
“We’ve recently seen US President Barack Obama, IMF chief Christine Lagarde, the World Economic Forum, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and even the Pope call for action to address inequality.”
“Tackling inequality and sharing the benefits of economic growth has been on the G20’s agenda before and it should be now, with the wealth gap ever-widening and evidence that inequality can be bad for growth itself,” Dr Szoke said.
Oxfam’s report into wealth distribution in Australia follows a study last week by Boston Consulting Group, which found private wealth on a global scale has peaked, reaching a staggering $152 trillion.
Research shows China has now surged into second place for the country with the most millionaires propelling Asia towards becoming the wealthiest continent in the world.
Related: Asia to surpass North America as world's wealthiest region
BRW's rich list:
1. Gina Rinehart
2. Frank Lowy
3. James Packer
4. Anthony Pratt
5. Ivan Glasenberg
6. Harry Triguboff
7. Wing Mai Hui
8. John Gandell
9. Andrew Forrest
