Well, it appears the financial elite in Britain are emerging not only with their fortunes intact, but holding a larger than ever slice of the cake.
The rich are not only getting richer but at a faster rate, thus creating a widening gap between those who have more and those who have less.
According to the Office for National Statistics, soaring house prices are pushing up the assets of the wealthiest and those in the middle.
The ONS says the top 10% saw their wealth rise in value by 21%, while the assets of the least wealthy (accounting for half of all households) rose in value by just 7%. For those in the middle, the rise was 17%.
The ONS says the distribution of wealth is highly skewed towards the top. The wealthiest own almost half of the total aggregate wealth of £11.1 trillion. The richest 10% owned 45% of household wealth, while the poorest half owned 9% of all household wealth (£1 trillion).
Similar is the story in India. The gap between the super rich and the rest is spiralling out of control.
According to Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Databook 2014, India’s richest 10% holds 370 times the share of wealth that its poorest hold. India’s richest 10% have been getting steadily richer since 2000, and now hold nearly three-quarters of total wealth. India’s top 1% holds close to half of the country’s total wealth.
Household Wealth Rise (Britons)
Poorest (1-50%) -- % Change between 2012 & 2014 is (7%)
Middle (51%-90%) -- % Change between 2012 & 2014 is (17%)
Richest (10%) -- % Change between 2012 & 2014 is (21%)
Wealth Disparity (India)
Top 1% (super rich) --- Nearly half of India’s wealth
Top 10% --- Nearly ¾ of India’s total wealth
Top 10% --- 370 times the wealth of the poorest