8 reasons to share the wealth

The richest few are taking too much, leaving the rest of us struggling to get by, starving our public services of funds, and depriving us of the tools we need to tackle climate breakdown. Here are eight reasons to rebalance the economy and share the wealth we all create.

1. While many of us struggle, top incomes have continued to soar

FTSE 100 CEOs earned 118 times median salaries in 2022.

Sources: Guardian, PwC, ONS, NEF calculations
Based on median full-time salary of £31,285 in 2021 and £33,000 in 2022.

2. Wealth inequality is growing too

Over the last decade, the wealth of the richest 10% of households has grown 574 times faster than that of the poorest 10%.

Sources: ONS, NEF calculations 
Includes net property wealth, physical wealth, private pension wealth, net financial wealth.

3. The richest 10% own more than half of UK wealth

And the richest 1% own almost a quarter of wealth.

Source: Resolution Foundation 
Includes net property wealth, physical wealth, private pension wealth, net financial wealth and business assets.

4. Those with extreme wealth have continued to thrive through a decade of austerity, pandemic and flatlining wages

There were 177 billionaires in the UK in 2022 – up from just 53 in 2010 – with a combined wealth of £653bn.

Source: Sunday Times Rich List, Guardian

5. The UK’s billionaires could afford to fund vital public infrastructure several times over

Sources: Sunday Times Rich List, JRF, NEF, PSIRU, FT, DfE, Guardian

6. Most of us couldn’t join the wealthiest 10% even if we worked from birth and saved every penny

Source: Resolution Foundation

7. Our economy rewards people for what they own and control – from landlords to hedge fund managers – over what they do

Property and finance are the top wealth sources for the super-rich.

Source: Sunday Times Rich List

8. Chasing economic growth will not fix these problems

Real GDP growth doesn’t necessarily drive higher real pay for the majority.

Source: NEF, FT

But here’s the good news…

We have many ways to distribute the wealth we all create more fairly and give everyone the chance to live a healthy, prosperous and rewarding life. These include:

1. Increasing taxes on the very richest, particularly taxes on unearned wealth.
2. Promoting more democratic forms of ownership, like co-ops and publicly-owned utilities, and boosting workers’ bargaining power.
3. Changing the economic rules to limit profiteering, private monopolies and making fortunes from unearned wealth.

The richest few are taking too much – it’s time to share the wealth we all create.

Photo: iStock