Wealth of Britain's 157 billionaires now equals 22% of country's GDP

The Alarming Rise of Wealth Inequality in Britain

The wealth of Britain's 157 billionaires is now equivalent to more than a fifth of the country's entire GDP, according to analysis by the Equality Trust – a fivefold increase since 1990.

The 'Ghost GDP' Phenomenon

The charity describes the trend, based on data in this year's Sunday Times rich list, as Britain's 'ghost GDP': headline economic growth increasingly disconnected from everyday life.

The Data Analysis

When the Sunday Times first published its rich list in 1989, 15 billionaires held a total of £27bn – about 4p in every pound of GDP at the time. Today, the Equality Trust calculates that 157 billionaires hold just under £670bn – more than 22p in every pound.

• 1989: 15 billionaires held £27bn (4% of GDP)
• 2023: 157 billionaires hold £670bn (22% of GDP)

The Impact Analysis

'Workers have endured the longest pay squeeze in living memory,' said Priya Sahni-Nicholas, co-executive director of the Equality Trust. 'But the richest 50 families now hold more wealth than the poorest 34 million of us combined.'

The Prediction

Gabriel Zucman, an economist at University of California, Berkeley and the Paris School of Economics, said that while in the postwar decades GDP growth numbers were broadly indicative of how income was growing for most of the population, 'today, there is a total disconnect between macroeconomic indicators and the reality of income gains for most people.'