00:02A new publication by the World Inequality Report 2026 has revealed some staggering global disparities.
00:09Fewer than 60,000 people, just 0.001% of the world's population,
00:14control three times as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity.
00:18The top 10% earn more than the remaining 90%,
00:21while the poorest half captures less than 10% of global income.
00:25Eliza Herbert unpacks the situation as it stands.
00:27This world is home to over 8 billion people.
00:33And yet just 0.001% of the population, less than 60,000 people,
00:40owns three times more wealth than the poorest half.
00:44That's according to the latest World Inequality Report for 2026,
00:48whose authors say the situation demands urgent attention.
00:53Around the world, living standards are stagnating for many,
00:56while wealth and power are even more concentrated at the very top.
01:00Independent research is under threat in places where academic freedom once seemed secure.
01:06These developments are connected.
01:08Rising inequality undermines trust, weakens our democracies, and fuels discontent.
01:13The data compiled by over 200 researchers found that the top 10% of the global population's income earners
01:22earn more than the other 90% combined,
01:25while the poorest half of the global population captures less than 10% of the total global income.
01:31It's a pattern echoed in nearly every part of the world,
01:35where the benefits of globalisation and economic growth flow onto only a small portion of wealth hoarders,
01:41as many struggle to achieve stable livelihoods.
01:45The regional disparities are also immense.
01:48For example, the average monthly income in sub-Saharan Africa is about 13 times less than in North America and Oceania.
01:57Women still only earn around 30% of global labour income,
02:02but work more hours when factoring in unpaid labour.
02:05The poorest half of people are also going to be disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis,
02:12despite accounting for only 3% of carbon emissions,
02:16compared to the 77% of the top 10%.
02:20Well, we now have the opportunity to speak to one of the report's authors.
02:25In fact, it's main author, Ricardo Gomez Carrera,
02:27economist and researcher at the World Inequality Lab.
02:30Ricardo, thank you for joining us.
02:32This is staggering, I have to say.
02:330.01% of people earning three times the wealth of the entire bottom half of humanity.
02:40We are destined for some kind of collapse here.
02:44Well, yes.
02:45First of all, Janemil, thank you for having me.
02:47And yes, the results of our report are quite striking.
02:51First of all, I would like to say something related to the report and the work that we do at the World Inequality Lab.
02:57We are based, our work, this report is based on the research of more than 200
03:02researchers and social scientists from all over the continent.
03:07And we, in the World Inequality Lab, manage the World Inequality Database.
03:12That it's a database that can measure inequality from the whole distribution,
03:17from the bottom to the top, in several countries for several years.
03:21And that is how we can make this kind of report, where we can measure inequality in several domains.
03:27But yes, what you say is one of our most striking findings is that the population that could fit in a stadium,
03:35less than 100,000 individuals, own more wealth, three times more wealth than half of humanity combined.
03:4160,000 people?
03:4360,000 people.
03:46It just beggars belief.
03:48We saw in that report the regions which are worst affected.
03:51Are there any countries which are actually trying to bridge the gap quite actively?
03:56And there are other countries which are really falling behind and could learn a thing or two?
04:00Well, another important finding of the report, even if inequality is increasing at a very fast and alarming pace,
04:08an important finding of the report is that we see that redistribution policies are quite effective in reducing inequality.
04:14So public investment in education, in health, they have these very good traits to reduce inequality,
04:21and not just in the short term.
04:22The people benefited with more investment in education.
04:25They themselves can have higher incomes, but they can transmit these benefits to their own children.
04:31So we see that education and health are very good ways to reduce inequality,
04:34and we see that there are some countries that are doing policies that can reduce inequality.
04:40However, we see that inequality overall is increasing and more extreme inequality.
04:46So in terms of an immediate lesson that countries need to take,
04:49obviously you can't have a blanket approach for everyone.
04:52Everyone has their own problems.
04:53But what is the first board of advice that you would give to a country trying to bridge the gap?
05:01My own, South Africa, is the worst in the world.
05:03What would you say to the leaders there?
05:05Well, it's alarming that we see that in the past years,
05:08public expenditure in education and health is decreasing.
05:11And this is, as I said, one of the main ways to reduce inequality.
05:14So I would urge governments to increase the investment in education and health.
05:20And also we see that other mechanisms that are producing this high concentration in some hands is the lack of progressivity at the top.
05:29So redistributive policies are effective when I talk about cash transfers and investment in education and health.
05:36But it's also quite effective to keep progressivity.
05:39So if you have more money, if you are richer, you should pay more taxes.
05:42And we see that progressivity is collapsing at the very top of the distribution.
05:47The wider the gap, the more political and social instability.
05:52But is there a direct correlation to inequality and violence?
05:56We see that the wealthiest have a very high influence on the...
06:03I mean, what you say is a very important question.
06:05But I want to stress also that another mechanism is that the wealthiest have a very large influence on the politics.
06:12And they manage the agendas and target the political agendas to what they consider the most important.
06:17So if they are affected by violence or by other things in the society or economy, they will redirect the political agenda to those subjects.
06:29What about a global wealth tax?
06:31I mean, is that something...
06:32I think you've touted it in there about 3% on the top earners.
06:36And that would really cover the shortfall.
06:38Is that a realistic solution?
06:40Well, that would be an amazing solution.
06:42And first of all, let me say that it's very important to invest in education and health, as I already stressed.
06:48And a powerful way to fund these investments in education and health could be from having potential revenues from the people who are not currently paying their taxes.
06:59So if people at the top are not currently paying their taxes and we would be able to tax just below 100,000 individuals,
07:06we would have enough revenue, the world would have enough revenue to cover all the expenditure that is now made in South Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia.
07:17That's incredible. But are we at a tipping point?
07:20We're very close.
07:21What will that mean for society?
07:24I mean, we need to take a decision.
07:26Either we continue in this track and wealth concentration keeps being in the hands of a few, or we take this matter into our own hands and we, with political participation and political will, transform institutions and try to reduce inequality.
07:44Just a final question.
07:46I don't suppose we've ever been this severe in human history.
07:49If we can just call on lessons of the past for an immediate fix, is that even anything that we can possibly comprehend or is it going to take years and years and years to undo this?
08:03Well, we've seen from the past experience, for example, the years after the Second World War, that there was very high economic growth, very high productivity, and there were very low levels of inequality.
08:13So we can learn from the past.
08:14We can reduce inequality.
08:16All we need is political will.
08:17All that political will, let's try to rally the troops.
08:21Ricardo Gomez Carrera, thank you so much.
08:23And that's after his report outlining some really stark inequality in the world going forward.
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