Ultra-rich 0.001% control triple the wealth of poorest half of humanity: report

Global wealth has reached a level of concentration that researchers describe as extreme, according to the World Inequality Report 2026.

The study, conducted by the World Inequality Lab, finds that fewer than 60,000 people, about 0.001% of the world’s population, now control three times more wealth than the entire bottom half of humanity combined. The authors say the concentration reflects decades in which the accumulation of assets at the top has far outpaced economic gains for most people.

The report shows that global economic growth has not translated into a more balanced distribution of wealth. The richest 10% of people own about 75% of global wealth, while the bottom 50% hold just 2%, a gap that has remained largely unchanged even as total global wealth has expanded. The report also highlights how inequality is reinforced through unequal access to education, public investment and labor income, particularly in developing regions (much of Asia, Africa and Latin America), limiting long-term mobility even as economies grow.

Recent U.S. figures further illustrate how wealth concentration plays out along racial lines within a single country. According to U.S. Census Bureau data released in 2024, White, non-Hispanic households held about 80% of all U.S. wealth, despite making up roughly two-thirds of households, while Black households held less than 5%.

Without policy shifts to address structural gaps in taxation and public investment, the authors warn, current patterns of wealth concentration are likely to persist for decades.