In the year of our lord 2023, just over one percent of the population, globally, controls nearly 50 percent of its wealth.
The rest of us, poor plebeians that we are, reside on the lowest rung of global income, collectively enjoying a combined wealth of $5 trillion. That $5 trillion makes up a measly 1.1 percent of the world’s wealth, yet it’s shared by more than half of the entire population of planet Earth. As we struggle to make ends meet, the world’s wealthiest people — some of whom boast billions of dollars, all on their own — continue to feed us lies about the wonders of capitalism, despite proving, time and again, that it’s nothing but a pipe dream we should have left behind a century ago.
At the very top of the pyramid of wealth sits a single man. As the rest of us count our pennies and stress over bills, a few lucky folks are absolutely rolling in cash. The wealthiest among them is a name that likely won’t surprise you — even after he wasted a few billion on a spiraling social media platform.
The richest person on planet Earth
That’s right, Elon Musk remains the world’s wealthiest man. The businessman and CEO has been worth heaps of cash for years, of course, but it wasn’t until recently that he ascended to the tip of the world’s wealth pyramid.
And that’s after he spent an eye-watering $44 billion to acquire X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Even that massive misstep — which saw Twitter, within a year of changing hands, plummet in popularity — wasn’t enough to topple King Musk from his throne, however. He’s simply got too much in the bank, with a net worth estimated to fall above $180 billion. He’s technically beat out — at least, on occasion — by Bernard Arnault and his family, but on his own, Musk is easily the world’s wealthiest man.