These 10 Facts About Income Inequality Will Change How You Look At Your Money Forever

These facts about income inequality are guaranteed to boil some blood. 

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Well, we knew it was bad, but we had no idea just how bad until we did some digging. We looked around for the worst of the worst and now, we bring to you these terrifying facts about the true face of income inequality to change how you look at money forever.

10. The World’s 300 Richest Have More Than The 3 Billion Poorest

At the very, very top of the wealth spectrum we see the most mind-blowing discrepancies. The best example of this is in the richest 300 people in the world, who collectively own more than the poorest 3 billion people.

9. Changes In Wages Since 1979

The share of income going to the top 1% in America has skyrocketed in the past 30 years. Wages for everyone else, on the other hand, have reached a complete plateau. This discrepancy is further brought to light by the increase in economic productivity in the same period. More money is being made on the whole, it’s just that none of it is going to the average worker.

8. 39% Of The World’s Wealth Belongs To The 1%

The distribution of the world’s wealth has always skewed towards the top, but never has that been more true than it is today. Fully 39% of the world’s wealth belongs to the 1%, and that figure is only expected to increase in the coming years.

7. The Top 1% Own 50% Of Stocks

Stock ownership is very much a wealthy person’s game. While 50% of stocks are held by people in the top 1%, the bottom 50% own just half a percent. Most of the wealth generated by the top 1% was due to stock ownership, so the fact that the world’s poorest don’t own any helps to explain the lack of substantial gains in wealth.

6. The Bottom 80% Own Just 6% Of Global Wealth

So we’ve established that the rich control more than a third of global wealth, but what about the opposite side of the spectrum? It turns out that the bottom 80% of the global population own just 6% of the world’s wealth.

5. CEO Pay vs. Average Worker Pay

CEOs take home far more than the average employee. There’s nothing inherently surprising about this. What is surprising however is just how much more they take home now compared to what they have historically. Most of us agree that a CEO should be compensated for a job well done, but just how much more than an average worker should he or she be compensated? Twenty times? One hundred times? One thousand times?

4. Ever-Increasing Income Disparities

The share of income going to the top 1% has continued to increase in the time between 1979 and the present day. While income for everyone except the top 10% has seen a plateau or even a decline, income at the top continues to shoot through the roof.

3. The Bottom 90% Own 73% of U.S. Debt

It’s hard to move upward when all of your money is tied up in debts. This is a problem that the poorest 90% of the U.S. faces, owning by far the largest amount of debt.

2. Evaporating Social Mobility

The U.S. loves to pride itself on being the country where anyone can make it. While this is still technically true, you’re a lot less likely to make it now than you ever were in American history. At best, you were 14% likely to escape the lower-to-middle classes. Today, that chance has dwindled to around 3%.

1. U.S. Leads The Charge In Income Inequality

When it comes to the most developed nations, the U.S. is home to the worst income inequality in the developed world. This is due to a number of factors, but one of the most immediate and potent is the significant reduction in taxes on the highest tax bracket.

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This article originally appeared on Ask Men.

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