According to Forbes magazine’s annual survey of the world’s wealth, the very rich are getting much richer, and membership in this exclusive club keeps growing -- at a rate of one new billionaire every other day. In 2018, Forbes counted 2,208 billionaires living among us, up from 2,043 in 2017. The average wealth of this fortunate group of people is $4.1 billion USD, a record high.
More money for the top 1 percent:
- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is now the world’s richest person, with a net worth of $112 billion USD, followed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates at $90 billion USD.
- Billionaires increased their wealth by $762 billion USD in 2017, an amount that could end extreme poverty around the world seven times over, the global charity Oxfam reported.
- The disparity keeps growing: 82 percent of the total wealth created went to the top 1 percent in 2017, while the bottom 50 percent of individuals saw no increase in their wealth.