Yawning gap remains between assets of rich and poor

Truly disturbing and frightening... read this article from the the International Herald Tribune:

(emphasis below added)

The Associated Press

"LONDON: The richest 2 percent of adults still own more than half of the world's household wealth, perpetuating a yawning global gap between rich and poor, according to research published Tuesday.

"The report from the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research shows that in 2000 the richest 1 percent of adults — most of whom live in Europe or the United States — owned 40 percent of global assets.

"The richest 10 percent of adults accounted for 85 percent of assets, according to the report from the institute, which is part of the United Nations University.

"By contrast, the bottom 50 percent of the world's adult population owned barely 1 percent of the world's wealth. ... "