The article in the url below engages in an interesting exercise:
"Would the world be a better place if the wealthiest gave their fortunes away to the bottom billion? We tried to answer the question by creating the Robin Hood Index. … The index shows how the net worth of each country's wealthiest person compares 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."
The associated chart detailing the Robin Hood Index is at:
As the article notes, the effect varies considerably across countries, with every person living in poverty in Sweden receiving $33,149, while every person living in poverty in India receiving just $59:
"The net worth of Bill Gates would turn into a one-off payment of $1,736 if distributed to the neediest 15 percent of Americans."
Given that the wealth of the richest person in each country is roughly the same (give or take a billion or ten), what the exercise really demonstrates is that there are many more people living in poverty in India than in Sweden:
"[India's richest man] Mukesh Ambani's $19.2 billion net worth … is 13.6 million times more than the gross domestic product of his fellow Indians. Still, with 30 percent of the country destitute, his riches would result in each poor person getting $59, enough for 118 basic meals priced at 35 rupees (50 cents) and consisting of rice, dal, two vegetables, one pickle and three chapatis."
Have a good weekend
David
David Chandler & Bill Werther
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What If The Richest Person in Every Country Gave All Their Money to the Poor?
By Wei Lu
September 21, 2015
Bloomberg Businessweek
