Just Who Are The 1%ers?

[Dizzy1]

Good news to those of you, like me, trying to obtain the status of the social labeling of those elite enough to want a better life for themselves ...

As the business and political elite met at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, there was much talk of rising inequality, and many references to the "wealthiest 1%". The phrase conjures up images of billionaires living on private islands - but is that who the 1% really are?

A report by the charity Oxfam released to coincide with the Davos gathering caused a stir by predicting that the wealthiest 1% will soon own more than the rest of the world's population.

It drew on research from the bank Credit Suisse, which estimated total global household wealth in 2014 at $263tn (£175tn).

That's wealth, not income. It is calculated as assets minus debt.

Obviously billionaires like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Mark Zuckerberg are part of the 1%. But who else is? According to Credit Suisse, another 47m people - everyone with wealth of $798,000 (£530,000) or more.

That includes many people in rich countries who may not regard themselves as particularly wealthy, but who simply own their house outright or have paid off a significant chunk off their mortgage.

Among them are:

18m people in the US - the country with more members of the 1% than any other
3.5m people in France
2.9m people in the UK
2.8m in Germany
Germany has the biggest economy in Europe. The reason it has fewer wealthy people - by Credit Suisse's measure - is that it has lower levels of home ownership.

There are two Asian countries with more than a million people in the top 1%:

4m in Japan
1.6m in China
The country with the largest proportion of its population in the 1% per capita is Switzerland. One in 10 Swiss residents - 800,000 out of 8m - have assets worth more than $798,000.

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But Credit Suisse's report doesn't tell the whole story.

It doesn't take into account how much it costs to buy goods in each country, for example. Half a million pounds might buy a one-bedroom flat in central London, but in other countries it could buy a mansion.

It also doesn't take into account income. As a result, many well-paid young people in Western countries may fall into the bottom 50% of wealth - either because they still have student debt to pay off, or because they know how to live well, and spend all their income.

If entry into the 1% does not guarantee a jet-set lifestyle, this is even truer when it comes to the cut-off point for the wealthiest 10% - for this you only need $77,000 (£50,000) of assets.

And the figure required to be in the top half of the world's wealthiest is just $3,650 (£2,400).

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30949796

Guess we'll have to coin a new term for the people we're jealous of :)

[steven lloyd]

Guess we'll have to coin a new term for the people we're jealous of :)

The 1 % of the 1%ers ?

[GordonH]

^^^ Of course the names of those in the top 1% of the 1%'ers, is most likely not to be found.
What is available is Forbes top 500, those may or not even be in 1%. They can pay to stay hidden.

[LANDM]

We know the names of two of the 2%ers in Canada. Eric and Ilsa. Google them for a laugh!

[Thinktank]

I heard that before. If you own $77,000 worth of stuff you are in the top 10% of people on earth.

I don't believe it.

I think every person in Cuba owns a lot more than $77,000 worth of stuff, and they're not in the world's top 10%.

Probaly some billionaire started spreading that 'conventional wisdom' to make all the poor
people in the world feel happey.

"I'm in the world's top 10%" Yay! Happy!

[Dizzy1]

The 1 % of the 1%ers ?

LOL ... not catchy enough ... how about just "The Percenter's?" LOL!

[Dizzy1]

"I'm in the world's top 10%" Yay! Happy!

Sucks to be you! Keep trying though, maybe one day you'll be one of us :)

[Captain Awesome]

I don't want to be in the top 1%. May be top 4%.

[I Think]

It is all about what you are willing to "pay" in order to be money rich.
Have yet to meet a money rich person whose lifestyle I think enough of to trade.

[Captain Awesome]

It is all about what you are willing to "pay" in order to be money rich.

Pay? Oh, you mean like one has to work for it? I thought it was a given.

[I Think]

It aint given.................'cept for those few who get it the old fashioned way................ inherit it.

Then you gotta learn to be really stingey to hang on to it.

& more than one rich person took an unethical turn to get their hands on a big bag o cash.
No amount of money is worth abandoning integrity to get.

[Captain Awesome]

No amount of money is worth abandoning integrity to get.

In our culture the word "wealthy" became a synonym for "scummy". Don't know why since they're plenty of scummy broke people.

[Bsuds]

It aint given.................'cept for those few who get it the old fashioned way................ inherit it.

Or marry it!

I think there are quite a few who inherit.

[Thinktank]

No amount of money is worth abandoning integrity to get.

That's the dumbest thing I ever heard.

I don't think there's a person on earth that actually believes that 'conspiracy theory.'

[Fancy]

No amount of money is worth abandoning integrity to get.

I agree wholeheartedly. There's such a thing as self-respect.