If you distribute the wealth of the top 5% richest people to the world, how much would each person get?

Question

I know that that's easy to calculate once you know how much money the top 5% possess. I just didn't find that number. Does anybody know a source for this kind of data?

This is of course just a theoretical question. My guess is that the number would be rather small. It would just be nice to know when discussing things like wealth distribution or inequality...

Answer 1

I know it is not answering your question but: If we shared the wealth of 691 people among the richest on the planet each human being would receive a bit more than $ 332. And if this money went to those who really need it, think about how many lives could be saved!

The collective net worth of the 691 billionaires we could find is $2.2 trillion, up $300 billion from the combined worth of the 587 people listed last year.” as per a Forbes Special Report.
And the world polulation is curently estimated at 6.63 Billion souls.

Answer 2

The answer given using the Forbes numbers sounds the most accurate.

I have to say though, reading some of these answers I really wonder how anyone can attempt to answer such a question without any economic background.

Capping the earning capacity of billionaires? Redistributing their money to workers? Honestly, a simple macroeconomics course is required for anyone who actually feels this is intelligent.

There are 2 main points blatantly being overlooked:

First, unless you believe these billionaires keep their wealth under their mattresses, the fact is that all this wealth is used productively in the economy as business investment, whether within their own companies, stocks of other companies, business ventures, real estate, or philanthropy. Even money in the bank expands the money supply by a multiple of 4 to 1 for every dollar saved. This is simple economics. These facts are what drives the economy. Investment in the above mentioned items provide jobs and create economic efficiency that permit us to pay prices for things far less than we could ever afford if we had to obtain these items on our own. There is no better solution to helping those in need than to boost the economy...consider the poorest people in the US would be considered wealthy in most 3rd world nations.

Secondly, in reference to the idea of capping wealth and/or giving wealth to the average worker, the first is the biggest incentive killer that would bring the economy to a crushing slowdown, and the latter is a gross display of superfluous welfare. Consider if Bill Gates no longer had any inventive to grow his company, I image the thousands of workers at Microsoft who depend on company stability and the millions of people in the Pacific Northwest who have businesses or employment due to Microsoft's existence would have something to say about that. The naive proposition overlooks the fact that the rich getting richer also means more opportunity for everyone. You cap that off, and you cap off opportunity, and suddenly everyone is spending less and less jobs are available, etc.

As for the welfare, just ask yourself, who would you rather have the money in the hands of, those who have successfully shown they know how to grow the economy with big business thus create opportunity and jobs, or the workers who yearn for a free handout yet don't have the desire and/or the ability to make that money work productively? You have to ask yourself this because that is what you would be doing. Sure, if you could assure that you could get the money directly to those who are dying from the most basic necessities, then you can make a case, but taking a percentage off the top of billionaires and handing it out to everyone else is not in any manner going to accomplish this.

Billionaires and big business drives the economy and has created in all G8 nations a standard of living where starving is not an issue...doesnt it make sense for the long haul that we should strive to create such a society throughout the world? Of course it does, and this is accomplished by applauding business success, not punishing it.

Answer 3

if you limited fortunes to one billion every family would get US$2500

if you limited everyone to the maximum one person can truly earn ie, add to wealth by their work, [US$2 million] every worker in the world including housewives and tertiary students, would get US$15 an hour - ie, US$75,000 per family working average hard

Answer 4

sternenstaub... my friend find me those ppl who r willing to part with thr money then ask me this question plz> I will calculate it 4 u easy as pie in da sky

Answer 5

1 INDIAN RUPEE