Almost half the world's wealth belongs to 1% of the population

                 

The millionaires represent 1% of the world population, but about half of the global private wealth is shared by them, reveals the annual report of the financial office Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

In total, 18.5 million fortunate families hold 47% of the accumulated wealth in the world, details the report published on Tuesday. This percentage amounts to 78.8 trillion dollars, exceeding the gross domestic product (GDP).

The United States is home to by far the largest number of millionaire households (8 million households), followed by China (2 million) and Liechtenstein and Switzerland, in proportion to their populations.

The extreme concentration of wealth is particularly marked in North America, where 63% of the 60.4 trillion in accumulated private wealth belongs to millionaires.

This ratio - the largest in the world - is expected to reach 69% in 2020, according to Boston Consulting Group.

According to the report, the accumulated wealth in offshore centers, which offer low or zero taxes, increased by 3% in a year, currently reaching nearly 10 trillion dollars. Switzerland remains the preferred offshore destination of the great fortunes, followed by Singapore and Britain.

The report projects that the industry will continue to grow in the coming years, despite the "regulatory measures to fight tax evasion."

The revelations of "Panama Papers" revealed the large-scale use of tax havens to escape the tax, leading the international community to announce a new plan to combat these practices.