Economic Growth

How is wealth distributed around the world?

Niall McCarthy
Data Journalist, Statista

This pyramid shows that as of 2015, 3.4 billion people (71% of the world’s adults) are in possession of less than $10,000. Another billion people (21% of the world’s adults) have financial assets of between $10,000 and $100,000. At the very top of the pyramid, 34 million people have a fortune of $1 million of higher, and they collectively control a whopping $113 trillion. By contrast, the 3.4 billion people at the base of the pyramid control just $7.4 trillion, according to the Global Wealth Report from Credit Suisse.

151102-global wealth statista pyramid distribution

Have you read?
Who are the 1%? The answer might surprise you
Why the wealthy don’t understand income inequality

Can redistributing wealth also be good for growth?

To keep up with the Agenda subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Author: Niall McCarthy is a Media Relations Manager at Statista

Image: Residents are seen in the Villa 31 slum, which censuses show has grown 50 percent in the past four years to currently house some 40,000 people, near the 100-year-old railway station Retiro in the heart of Buenos Aires, February 9, 2014. REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian.

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Economic Progress

Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Economic Progress is affecting economies, industries and global issues
World Economic Forum logo

Forum Stories newsletter

Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.

Subscribe today

This is the state of play in the global data centre gold rush

Khalid Alaamer

April 22, 2025

The world needs a new food revolution. Here's how to empower farmers to make it happen

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2025 World Economic Forum