Five Families Are Richer Than 20% Of All Britons – And So Are 80% Of You
SO the latest shocking report from Oxfam tells us. That only five families are richer than the bottom 20% of Britons put together, that just one family has more wealth than the entire bottom 10%.
The scale of Britain’s growing inequality is revealed today by a report from a leading charity showing that the country’s five richest families now own more wealth than the poorest 20% of the population.
It’s both true and also complete poppycock at the same time.
In a report, a Tale of Two Britains, Oxfam said the poorest 20% in the UK had wealth totalling £28.1bn – an average of £2,230 each. The latest rich list from Forbes magazine showed that the five top UK entries – the family of the Duke of Westminster, David and Simon Reuben, the Hinduja brothers, the Cadogan family, and Sports Direct retail boss Mike Ashley – between them had property, savings and other assets worth £28.2bn.
Yep, the top families do indeed have that much wealth. But the amount that those poorest families have is nothing like that at all. Oxfam have simply been incompetent here.
Think it through for a moment. Can we think of a situation in which someone has negative wealth? Perhaps they’re in negative equity? Or could be just fresh out of uni with a bit of student debt and nothing else? Yes, clearly we can think of people who have negative wealth. And thus there’s no way that the bottom 20% have £2k each in wealth. Thus they’re spouting poppycock.
The reality is that if you’ve no debt and a £10 note then you’re richer than 10% of all Britons put together. Than 20% of all of us.
What Oxfam have said is both true and also entirely poppycock.
Posted: 17th, March 2014 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
