India’s Richest 1% Increased Their Wealth Share by 62% in the Last 25 Years

Data Show Most New Wealth Went to Top 1% While Bottom Half Gained Little

November 12, 2025

Over the past two decades, a small group of people, including in India, have taken a much larger share of global wealth, while most of the world has seen little gain, according to a new report that links this concentration of wealth not only to personal effort but also to government policies that boosted financial markets at the expense of public resources.

Between 2000 and 2023, the top 1 percent of the population increased their share of wealth in more than half of all countries, covering 74 percent of the world’s population. In India, the richest 1 percent increased their wealth share by 62 percent over these years, according to the study, commissioned by the South African Presidency of the G20.

In China, the figure was 54 percent. In the U.S., a large part of this increase happened earlier, starting in the 1980s. Since then, the share of wealth held by the top 1 percent in the U.S. has grown by 50 percent.

This is part of a wider global pattern. Between 2000 and 2024, the richest 1 percent captured 41 percent of all new wealth created in the world. The bottom half of the world’s population, by contrast, captured just 1 percent. On average, each person in the top 1 percent increased their wealth by 1.3 million U.S. dollars in this period, adjusted for inflation. The average increase for people in the poorest 50 percent of the world was 585 dollars. That means the rich gained 2,655 times more per person than the poor.

One result of this is the rapid rise in the number of billionaires. There are now over 3,000 people in the world who each have wealth worth over a billion U.S. dollars, or roughly 88 billion (8,800 crore) rupees. Together, their combined wealth is equal to 14.1 percent of global GDP. In 1990, this was just 2.5 percent.

At this rate, the world is on track to see its first trillionaire in under 10 years.

Even as billionaire wealth surged, large sections of the world’s population have struggled to afford basic nutrition, healthcare and housing. Since 2019, the number of people facing chronic undernourishment has increased by 122 million, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict and climate-related shocks. According to UN estimates, around 735 million people were undernourished in 2022.

What has driven this massive rise in private wealth?

The main reason is the growth in financial wealth, such as stocks, bonds and property, rather than in things that produce goods and services. And this growth has not happened by accident. It is at least partly the result of decisions made by governments.

After the global financial crisis of 2008, many central banks poured large amounts of money into the economy to prevent collapse. Governments also borrowed heavily and expanded public debt to manage the crisis. The same thing happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. But they also caused asset prices to rise sharply. This increase in the value of stocks and property made the rich even richer, because they owned most of those assets.

In fact, the rise in private wealth has not been matched by an equal rise in productive capital. That means the wealth grew faster than the real economy did.

Moreover, whenever financial markets have looked unstable, governments have stepped in to prevent losses. This has helped to maintain the value of private wealth, even during periods when it might otherwise have fallen. But again, these interventions have added to public debt, shifting risk from private investors to the broader population.

Therefore, the key issue is not just that inequality has grown, but that this growth is tied to how global finance is managed. It shows how much of today’s wealth is the result of policy choices, not just of economic effort. When asset prices go up due to central bank support or government borrowing, those who already own assets benefit far more than those who do not. As a result, even though the global economy may grow in size, the share of gains going to ordinary people remains very small.

This kind of wealth growth is also harder to tax. Income from wages is taxed more easily than gains from assets, especially in systems where capital gains or inheritances face lower taxes or are easily moved offshore. As private wealth grows and public wealth shrinks, governments may also find it harder to invest in services that benefit the majority, such as healthcare, education and infrastructure.

Without serious reform, this pattern is likely to continue, with ever greater concentration of wealth at the top and continued insecurity for large parts of the global population.

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