If you are still reading the headline in shock, then get ready for another jolt. The net worth of
Bill Gates, if distributed to the neediest, would only be enough to hand out one-off payment of $1,736 to 15% Americans.
If you still think we are kidding around, then hang on! We have some more interesting and credible information to share with you.
A
Bloomberg report, titled
What If the Richest Person in Every Country Gave All Their Money to the Poor?, shares that the world won’t become a much
better place even if the wealthiest give their fortunes away to the bottom billion. And they haven’t come to this conclusion just like that. In fact, they took a spattering of 42 countries with radically different demographics and economies, compared the wealthiest individuals to the percentage of the populations living in poverty, and then created the
Robinhood Index, which shows how the net worth of each country's wealthiest person is compared to the livelihood of his fellow countrymen by calculating the lump sum in dollars each person living in poverty would get if the assets of the richest citizen were liquidated and redistributed. And see what they got:
The Bloomberg report further shares that
Mukesh Ambani's $19.2 billion net worth will amount to the smallest payout to the poor of any other country analyzed. With 30% of the country destitute, his riches would result in each poor person getting $59, enough for 118 basic meals priced at Rs 35 (50 cents) and consisting of rice, dal, two vegetables, one pickle and three chapatis.
Read the complete report here.
Image credits: Indiatimes & Bloomberg.
