The share of world wealth held by billionaires increased at a record high during the pandemic, Reuters reported, citing a study released today.

According to the World Inequality Report prepared by social science experts, in 2021 billionaires own 3.5 percent of global household wealth, compared to just over 2 percent before the 2020 pandemic.

The COVID crisis has exacerbated inequalities between the super-rich and the rest of the population, said study leader Luke Chancellor, adding that rich countries have used strong financial leverage to prevent a sharp rise in poverty, but not the poorer ones.

The report shows that 520,000 people, or 0.01 percent of the world's richest people, increased their share to 11 percent of the world's wealth from 10 percent a year ago. Households in this category have assets of over 16.7 million euros.

According to the annual list of billionaires of "Forbes" this year it includes 2755 people with a total wealth of 13.1 trillion dollars compared to "only" 8 trillion dollars last year.

/Dnevnik