Wealth Inequality Trends Around the World: A First View Leveraging Multiple Data Sources

Franziska Disslbacher (), Salvatore Morelli () and Matteo Targa ()

No 55, LWS Working papers from LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg

Abstract: Using the novel GC Wealth Project Data Warehouse, this paper shows that wealth inequality has increased since the early 2000s in roughly 60% of the countries in our sample, although trends are not uniform across countries. While the largest gains in wealth shares accrue to the top 10%, relative losses are borne by the bottom 50% and the middle 40% alike. We reveal substantial variation of estimates across data sources and units of analysis, which complicates international comparison of wealth inequality. Yet, core trends at the country level are generally robust. Individual-based series generally report higher inequality than household-based ones. Regional patterns reveal sharp increases in inequality in Latin America, North America, India, and China, while Europe and Asia-Pacific exhibit more stable trends. Incorporating Forbes billionaire data extends coverage to low-income countries and Africa—where, notably, billionaire wealth relative to GDP has remained stable, marking a distinct exception to global patterns.

JEL-codes: D3 D31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 94 pages
Date: 2026-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lam
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Published in Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper Series, No.128 (2026). https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/xrnpj_v1

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