I’ve not had a chance to listen to it, but looks like there’s a good documentary on BBC World Service about now (Auckland 810AM, Coromandel 107FM, or just follow the previous web link…).
The Wealth Gap looks at how the top 0.1% are running off with all the wealth.
The richest 1% have almost reversed the trend from early in the 20th century to get back up to 20% of national income in the UK. But many in the top 1% are being left behind by the top 0.1%.
FTSE 100 company chief executives’ total pay rose by 49% during the previous year alone, compared with average increases of less than 3% for their employees. The rise left the chief executives with average pay of £4.2m: 145 times the average pay of their employees and 162 times the British average wage.
The richest thousand individuals leave in the UK saw their wealth increase on average in 2010 alone by £60m. That was a 20% gain, following 25% the previous year.
The top 0.1% has gone from earning 61 times as much as the bottom 90% to 95 times as much between 1997 and 2007. Have they really suddenly become so valuable, so necessary to the economy or their companies to be rewarded so ridiculously? And if so: why is the world struggling so much?
Looks an interesting program. I’ll be listening tonight…
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