A question that fascinates me is whether or not global financial equity is even remotely achievable. Before that question can be answered, I think we need to take a look at what global financial equality looks like:

Why does this matter? Because the world’s wealth is not-so-slowly being controlled by a small group of unelected people.

The world’s wealthiest individuals own 11% of the world’s wealth. This means there becomes even less oversight over how our world’s wealth is distributed. In 2020, Elon Musk increased his wealth from $34.6 Billion to $213.8 Billion, an increase of 618%.

In the same year, Credit Suisse reports that global wealth grew 7.4%, to $535.6 Trillion. They list $102,365 as the average wealth of an adult, and that amount would be $68,750, if distributed equally among every human in the world, including children.

Elon Musk increased his wealth again, in 2021, to $354.65 Billion, putting a single individual in control of nearly 0.1% of the entire world’s wealth.

We now know that global equality, as it relates to net worth, means every human on earth should have $68,750 worth of assets, after subtracting any debts, but what income would every human have, in an equal world?

Remember, we’re looking into the logistics of an ‘equal’ world, not an ‘equitable’ world, which assumes that income, net worth, and purchasing power, are all equal. I cannot account for purchasing power (what you can buy for your money), but showcasing an equal distribution of net worth and income helps to put global wealth and earnings into perspective, particularly when our world is now so interconnected. People need money to survive, whether they are currently working for it, or whether someone else is working for it.

Global GDP was $120 Trillion, in 2021, and the population of the world was 7.9 Billion, which means a per-capita GPD (average income), of $15,234 per person per year, or $1270 per month.

For comparison, Canadians have a total net worth of $15.58 Trillion, which equates to a mean (average) net worth of $409,787 per Canadian. Canada’s total GDP is $1.64 Trillion, or $43,242 per Canadian, if distributed equally.

Global average income: $15,234
Canadian average income: $43,242
Global net worth: $68,750
Canadian net worth:$409,787

Do you think the average Canadian would accept a 65% decrease in income, and an 83% reduction in net worth, for the sake of global equality? The answer to that is probably “no,” both because we don’t care that much about global equality, or equity, and because our purchasing power is lower than many countries, so even if everyone in the world made the same amount of money, and had the same net worth, we still wouldn’t live in a financially equal, or equitable, society.

You may be expecting some insightful conclusion at this point, but I don’t have one for you. This is merely an exercise in understanding what global financial equality looks like, to help you form more realistic ideas around how global financial inequities can be addressed.

I like to consider many aspects of global equity, which is why I created A Social Justice Colouring Book, with the intent of providing people a chance to reflect on issues, like wealth inequity.

– Nicola Spurling –
22/05/22