85 People Own More Than 50 Percent
 

85 people now own more wealth than half the population of the planet combined.
That's just 7 dozen people.
Not even enough people to fill the roster of two NFL football teams.
And the gap is growing wider at a pace that continues to accelerate.

http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam...14-summ-en.pdf


People still waste time debating the tiny differences between the barely rich and the disenfranchised poor, instead of noticing that there is now a tiny handful of oligarchs in place who have nothing in common with the barely rich or the poor.

http://www.independent.co.uk/incomin...qualityWEB.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5zvi0JZ-bI...ant_change.jpg



:stoned

ADG

86 - they forgot me

85 they don't need you :winkwink:

Blasphemy!! :mad:

Its natural, once you have loads of money its easier to make more at the faster speed than others.

I like how they call those 85 people the 1%, They do not even come close to 1% LOL. Maybe .000001%

The 2-5% are much closer to the bottom 10% than they are to the top 85... and the gap is accelerating.

I wish I were a little bit taller

Same here, like wtf is that 1%. I guess thats how losers (I do not mean poor, I mean those who hate rich) roll, no sense in numbers :1orglaugh

Let's say average height is around 4 feet (including children etc)
World population is 7.1 billon

7.1 billion x 4 = 28.4 billion feet of people

1/2 of 28.4B = 14.2B

14.2B divided by 85 people = 167,058,823

So metaphorically, from a height standpoint we are talking about 85 people who are each roughly 167,058,823 feet (31,000+ miles) tall. That does a nice job of putting it all in perspective actually. Thanks :2 cents:

And whats your point? They should donate their hard earned money to the poor? Keeping in mind that its not cash, but stocks in most cases.

No, though many do. My point is that the tide is rising and the short people are already drowning. The tall people will begin drowning soon as well. The very tall people are just a few inches taller than the tall people and they will be underwater soon enough as well. Watching a guy who is financially 6' 3 bicker with a guy who is financially 5' 1 is absurd when the tide is rising this quickly. A few hundred ten-thousand-mile-tall people in life jackets isn't a good way to steer the ship of state.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I'm gonna have to realize it's a waste of time to try and get people to think on their own.



Look at the list of the top 100 wealthiest people on the planet and there is no common denominator re: how they accumulated that wealth. Some inherited it, other's capitalized off things such as the privatization of Russia, other's built real, worthwhile shit. Other's cha-chinged off taking their business public.

You want to take that cash and disperse it amongst everyone on the planet.

Tall people have an economic advantage. Let's cut them down to size while we're making shit fair.

The point it life is not fair. welcome to earth. it's never been fair it never will be fair.

I am not really seeing the problem. These 85 people probably employ many millions of people around the world. They certainly fund the many improvements in technology. Whether it's fair is not at question, because someone has to own it. I'd rather have it be 85 people than say just one or two people.

Who is "you"? And why would you want to disperse? Back to communism ideas? Everybody should be equal, take away from rich and give to poor?
It amazes me how some supposedly smart people advocate the idea of stealing from someone.

You are quite delusional.

There are over 7 billion people on the planet. Do these 85 people hire 3.5 billion people with their half of the planet's wealth?

Technological advances?! Wow, that's really insane. They use their money to squash progress.

The last thing these people want is change. They own the game... why would they let anything go?

Talk about a strange worldview...

DO you realize that 4% of the US population suffers from serious metal disease?
Have you seen a doctor lately.

Obviously, the you I'm referring to is the OP.

Why would OP want to disperse? And why specifically OP?

That's the gist of the thread topic. He's shared his view on this elsewhere around here. It's not hard to see.

Why? If only 85 people is good, surely one or two would be even better.
Just think of all the people that one guy could employee and how many technologies that one guy could fund.

What could possibly go wrong when generational wealth becomes so concentrated in the hands of so few.

Dyna mo,

Dispersing wealth and creating a framework that combats poverty are not the same thing. I have no problem with anyone amassing a fortune.
However, society can and should tweak things based on the results of the current system.
Tax havens in the Dakotas, carried interest, profits held overseas in favor of borrowing money rather that repatriating it...
When the distortions become too large it leads to disaster.

The gap is about to grow exponentially as labor becomes increasingly obsolete thanks to automation, globalization and population.

Some of us think that life can be, and should be more fair (with greater income equality, and a better quality of life). However, most indicators are that income inequality has been increasing dramatically over the past few decades:



In case you are unfamiliar with who Joseph Stiglitz is:

:stoned

ADG

Have you ever seen the movie In Time? It's a lot like real life in a way. Maybe in the future there will be districts, all the rich in one area and the poor in another much more polluted area.

Income/weakth inequality happens everywhere. Not just in the USA. Not just in Russia. Not just in China. Not just in Mexico. Not just in Europe. Everywhere, every nation. Again, look at the list of the wealthiest people on the planet. They're from many many different places on the globe and acquired their wealth from many different ways.

It's extremely unrealistic to think some how, some one, some thing should take that away from all of them and disperse it to less thans.

But not only is it global, it's not historically unprecedented. It's happened before.

What a retarded infographic, intentionally misleading probably. I'm not smart enough to figure out what it says. The possibilities are:

A)1% of the world's population owns half the wealth in the world.

B)85 people own 1% of the wealth in the world

C)85 people own the same wealth as everybody else in the world combined

85 divided by 8 Billion = .000000010625

So...what does the make the United States Govt?

It spends more money every year than every corporation COMBINED.

Seems to me that the govt. is the one that is the wealthiest. They dwarf anybody or any company that you can name.

and give billions away and pay billions and billions in taxes.

challenge accepted.

You're just being silly now. We have seen what can go wrong when power becomes to concentrated. I can only imagine what this country would be like if we didn't have a senate,congress and supreme court to keep the oval office in check.

this planet deserves shit like this, stupid people

I don't have time this morning to search for the top 10 billionaires donations this morning. But here is a good start.

Here is the semi complete list of donations that Bill Gates has made over the years.

1. University of Washington ($10,000,000) from May 6, 1996
?For scholarships, internships, "mentorships" for outstanding students (University of Washington Foundation)

2. Harvard University ($20,000,000) from October 30, 1996

?Computer Science Building (WashingtonPost Archives)

3. Focus: HOPE and Detroit Public Library ($2,000,000) from April 29, 1997

4. Atlanta University Center ($1,200,000) from June 2, 1997
?Hardware, Software, Technical Support ("Gates donates computer equipment to Atlanta University Center schools" The Atlanta Journal, page A1)

5. District of Columbia Library System ($1,000,000) from June 5, 1997

?Computers and software for the library ("Gates donates to libraries" The Nation, page 48)
Gates donates to libraries

6. William H. Gates Foundation ($115,000,000) from June 19, 1997

?William H. Gates Foundation ("Gates donates company stock worth $115,000,000 to his private foundation" The Spectator)
7. Glenvil, Nebraska Community Park Renovations ($5,000) from November 27, 1997
?Community Park ("Gates donates $5000 to help small town cause" DeseretNews)

8. Enoch Pratt Free Library ($240,000) from March 24, 1998

?Establish Computer Training Center ("Bill Gates donates money to Baltimore" AP)

9. UN Population Fund for Developing States ($1,700,000) from April 24, 1998
?Three year grant for population program in poor nations. Also to promote, exchange and experience in computer technology ("Short Take: U.N. population fund gets money from Gates", CNET)

10. Duke University ($20,000,000) from September 13, 1998

?University Scholars Program ("Harvard Dropout Bill Gates Donates $20 million to Duke" The Buffalo News Archives)

11. Seattle Public Library ($20,000,000) from November 26, 1998

?Seattle Public Library ("Gates donates $20 m to public library" The Spectator, Hamilton)
12. Vaccines for Developing Nations ($100,000,000) from December 2, 1998
?World Child Health Care ("Gates Donates to World Child Health Care" Chicago Tribune)

13. MIT ($20,000,000) from April 14, 1999

?Computer Science Building ("Bill Gates Donates $20 million to MIT" The Harvard Crimson)

"The money will be used to construct a new computer lab building named the William H. Gates Building that will be part of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science (LCS)."
14. International AIDS Vaccine Initiative ($25,000,000) from May 5 1999

?"For the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccine for use thorughout the world" ("Gates gives $25 m for AIDS research" (National Poison Center Malaysia Archives)

15. The Admiral Theater in Bremerton ($300,000) from July 13, 1999

?"The William H. Gates Foundation has donated $300,000 to support ongoing programs at a downtown arts center." ("Donation supports ongoing programs", Ellensburg Daily Record)



16. World Neighbors ($4,000,000) from August 24, 1999

?"Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has approved a grant of $4 million for expanding and sustaining reproductive health and family planning in rural communities of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The three-year grant will be used to expand and strengthen programs in rural India, Nepal, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Haiti and Ecuador." ("World Neighbors Awarded $4 Million From Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation" Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Press Release)

17. Amazonian People's Resources Initiative ($225,000) from September 8, 1999

?"A University of Kansas-based project aimed at improving reproductive health conditions in the Peruvian Amazon, today announced the receipt of a $225,000 grant from Bill and Melinda Gates. The grant supports APRI's radio program, "Bienvenida la vida" or "Welcome to Life," which broadcasts to more than one million people living in Peru, Columbia, Brazil and Ecuador." ("The Amazonian Peoples Resources Initiative Receives A $225,000 Grant From Bill and Melinda Gates" Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Press Release)

18. International Rescue Committee ($2,000,000) from October 6, 1999

?"$2 million grant from Bill and Melinda Gates to strengthen and enlarge the agency?s health program for refugees around the world. This is the largest institutional award the IRC has ever received for its health programs." ("Bill and Melinda Gates Give IRC $2 Million Gift" International Rescue Committee)

19. Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Center for International Development ($25,000,000) from November 16, 2000

?Fight HIV/AIDS in Nigeria ("NIGERIA: Bill Gates Donates Funds for AIDS Prevention" AllAfrica.com)

20. Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) (£100,000,000/ approx $621,240,000) from January 25, 2005

?Child health care for developing nations ("Billionaire Gates donates £400m to vaccine scheme" DailyMail.co.uk)

21. UN Sponsored International Health Fund ($500,000,000) from August 10, 2006

?Drugs prolonging life of AIDS victims, food for AIDS orphans, training for Health Care Workers ("On eve of T.O. visit, Bill Gates donates a half-billion dollars to fight AIDS" Toronto Star Archives)

22. South African Federation of the Urban Poor ($10,000,000) from November 22, 2007

?Also for the Slum/Shack Dwellers International. For 13,000 housing units ("Bill Gates donates $10 million to South Africa" The Economic Times, The India Times)

23. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($725,900,000 to $915,000,000) from February 15, 2008

?The donation was made in the form of Microsoft Stocks which at the time were valued at a low of $29 to a high of $37.50 hence the range. ("Gates Donates Stock to his foundation" TheStar)

24. Male Circumcision in Africa ($50,000,000) from June 15, 2009

?("Bill Gates helps fund mass circumcision programme" New Scientist)

25. University of Edinburgh (£1,360,000 or approx. $2.1 million) from April 8, 2009

?Research for Childhood Pneumonia ("Bill Gates donates £1.3 million for childhood pneumonia research" Telegraph)

26. Rotary International ($255,000,000) from January 21, 2009

?Global Effort to Eradicate Polio ("Global Health Community Commits Over $630 Million in Aggressive Push for Polio Eradication" Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Press Release)

27. Clinton Foundation ($25,000,000) from January 2, 2010

?HIV/AIDS treatment, helping cities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and inspiring millions of children to lead healthier lives ("Mayor Bloomberg, Bill Gates top list of donors to William J. Clinton Foundation" NYDailyNews)

28. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others ($10,000,000,000) from January 29, 2010

?("Bill Gates Donates $10 Billion for Vaccines" InformationWeek)

29. Farmers' Fund ($30,000,000) from April 22, 2010

?Farmers in Ghana and Rwanda ("Bill Gates donates £20m to kickstart fund for farmers" TheGuardian)

choice A: join the club
choice B: whine about it on GFY

you decide :thumbsup

Here's 12 more billionaires.. Now we are down to 73 world dominating capitalistic assholes.

Warren Buffett, Bill Gates' 'Giving Pledge' Gets 11 More Billionaires To Pledge Half Of Wealth

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1896882.html

Another..
Gordon Moore
Donations: $5 billion . Net worth: $4.1 billion as of March 2013

Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Intel Corp, has donated over approximately $5 billion to Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. A foundation dedicated to advancing environmental conservation, scientific research, and patient care. Gordon and wife Betty have pledged to give at least half of their net worth to charity.


Not bad for such evil rich people!

Larry Ellison looks like a piker. He only gave away $45m last year. sheesh...

Amount donated in 2010: $45.1 million


Net worth: $39.5 billion (via Forbes)


Beneficiary: Ellison Medical Foundation


Background: Ellison, the founder of Oracle, started his foundation in 1997 for biomedical research

But lets be honest. Why did he make these donations? Tax breaks.

Pure and simple.

Now for those bitching that they dont have a slice of those 85 peoples Pie.

GET TO WORK AND EARN IT!

Here's the link to another list of the evil billionaires and their charitable donations.
I wonder why they do it at all? Seems like not a lot of people appreciate the fact that they don't actually need to do a damn thing for the planet.


http://addicted2success.com/news/the...ave-the-world/

Tax breaks? When you have billions of dollars, tax breaks are meaningless.
Look at what Paul Allen has done for the world.

Tax breaks...sorry

Do you drop a ten dollar bill in the Salvation Army bucket for a tax break?