The Haves Take More

The Predatory Plutocrats

As many as 25 million more people in Europe are at risk of falling into poverty trap by the next 12 years if European states push on with austerity measures, international aid agency Oxfam says. This would bring the number of people at risk of poverty in Europe up to 146 million, over a quarter of the population, Oxfam warned

"The only people benefiting from austerity are the richest 10 percent of Europeans who alone have seen their wealth rise. Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK -- countries that are most aggressively pursuing austerity measures -- will soon rank amongst the most unequal in the world if their leaders don't change course." Natalia Alonso, the head of Oxfam's EU office, said "For example, the gap between rich and poor in the UK and Spain could become the same as in South Sudan or Paraguay" . 

The Wealth-X and UBS World Ultra Wealth Report 2013 released today also identified more than 2,000 billionaires globally with a total net worth of US$6.5 trillion, equal to 23 percent of the world's ultra high net worth (UHNW) total wealth. This is more than any other wealth tier despite making up only one percent of the UHNW population.

Across the globe, the ultra-wealthy population hit an all-time high of 199,235 individuals in 2013, with a combined fortune of nearly $28 trillion, according to the report released Tuesday.The average wealth of an “ultra high net worth” individual increased to $139 million, up $1.8 million from last year.

The number of mega-rich individuals -  those with net assets worth $30 million or above -  in Canada is 4,980 in 2013.  37 super-rich individuals with a net worth of $1 billion or more, says the report, and together they have a total fortune of $94 billion. Another 25 Canadians hold an individual net worth of $750 million to $999 million, while 90 individuals in Canada have a net worth of $500 million to $749 million. On the bottom end of the Canadian rich scale, there are 1,300 individuals in Canada with a net worth of $50 million to $99 million, while 2,183 people have a net worth between $30 million and $49 million, according to the report. 

In the United States 65,505 have a  combined wealth of more than $9 trillion.

India has over 1,250 UHNW individuals with a combined fortune of $95 billion. India is home to 103 billionaires

UHNW wealth increased by 10.4% rise  for Europe, taking their wealth to $76 trillion. The UK gained 395 ultra-high net worth individuals, and recorded a 3.7% increase in UNHW wealth to $1.3 trillion.

 Meanwhile in complete disregard of the facts, David Cameron, has stated that he does not think it is fair to refer to Jersey as a tax haven. Cameron said: "I do not think it is fair any longer to refer to any of the Overseas Territories or Crown Dependencies as tax havens. 

Geoff Cook, CEO of Jersey Finance, said: "Today's comments from the Prime Minister are not only extremely welcome, they demonstrate that there is now a recognition and understanding at the highest level of the UK government, of the standards achieved by Jersey and the other Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and also the value of Jersey to the UK, as a partner in international trade." 

No doubt a generous contribution to the Tory Party coffers is on the way.