
GUEST COLUMN:
Dr Edward Thomas Jones
Senior Lecturer in Economics at Bangor Business School
Bangor University

Not having access to wealth makes people’s lives more insecure and makes it more likely they will be pulled into poverty. Despite soaring wealth inequality, public concern and political action are not sufficient to address this social problem.
The continued rise and power of the billionaires
Washington, D.C. hosted many of the world's billionaires for Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20th. Among those attending were the three richest men in the world: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos (Amazon’s CEO), and Mark Zuckerberg (Meta’s CEO). According to Bloomberg, these three have a combined wealth of nearly $900 billion. Like other billionaires, they have accumulated vast wealth through their ownership of company shares and assets; as the value of these goes up, so does the wealth of their owners.
Oxfam's recent report, “Takers Not Makers,” predicts at least five trillionaires will emerge in the next ten years. Global billionaire wealth surged by roughly $2 trillion in 2024, a rate three times higher than in 2023, averaging a daily increase of approximately $5.7 billion. A similar trend was seen in the UK. The wealth of UK billionaires surged by a staggering £35 million per day in 2024, reaching a total of £182 billion, according to Oxfam’s report, which was published in January 2025.
In his farewell speech, former President Joe Biden cautioned about a rising super-wealthy in the US, who are becoming a threat to democracy. Such wealthy individuals are able to use their wealth to influence politics in ways which ultimately protect their assets. Wealth generates power that, in turn, is used to protect wealth. The presence of the wealthiest people in that world at the inauguration hints at an administration prioritizing the well-connected through policies on tax, labour, trade, and more. The rise in UK billionaires has sparked worries that a powerful elite is emerging due to their disproportionate wealth.
What is wealth?
Understanding wealth is challenging because, unlike income, it's a stock and not a fixed monetary amount. While often used interchangeably, savings, assets, and wealth have key distinctions. Savings refer to the money that has been saved by a person. The primary asset types people own are financial assets, such as shares and pensions and their savings, and physical asset, such as their home. These assets can create returns or income streams, such as those from share ownership, representing a store of wealth. A person's total wealth refers to the total value of someone’s assets and savings, minus any debt or loans such as mortgages or credit card debt.
One of the worrying social changes over the past 50 years has been the ballooning of wealth relative to income. The value of a home or a decent pension has raced far ahead of any growth in income. This has caused a sharp divide between those who already owns such assets, and those who has seen them move out of reach.
As the price of shares (owned by the few), property (owned by many more), and other asset prices have increased in recent years have boosted household wealth to approximately seven times national income, a significant rise from the usual three times, as reported by the Resolution Foundation. The increasing wealth-to-income ratio is transforming our society from one based on earnings to one based on ownership.
Wealth inequality in Wales
Income inequality is a metric that shows how income is distributed among a population. In the same way, the distribution of net worth among the population is measured by wealth inequality. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculated the distribution of household total wealth by various characteristics in Great Britain between 2018 and 2020. The median (average) total wealth for households in Great Britain was estimated to be £302,500. The South East had the highest median household wealth with £503,400 while the value for Wales was £275,700. The North East had the lowest median household wealth with £168,500.
The median household wealth of £503,400 was 20% higher than that between 2006 and 2008, after adjusting for inflation. In Great Britain, the top 10% possessed 43% of the nation’s wealth; in comparison the bottom 50% held only 9%. In most households, net financial assets was the least significant component of their total wealth. The extreme top of the wealth distribution was heavily skewed, showing the richest 1% holding more wealth than the bottom 80% combined.
There are many benefits to being wealthy. While wealth brings power, prestige, and social standing, but its impact is far greater. At a high level, having wealth helps people feel secure and in control of their lives and it can provide a safety net. However, having physical assets as a major component of an individual’s total wealth does not always provide a safety net, since the asset (e.g. home) cannot always be sold without causing other issues.
A parent’s wealth has positive associations with their children’s educational success and future earnings, regardless of their parents' education or income levels. Wealth inequality, much like income inequality, has a detrimental effect on population health. According to the King’s Fund (a UK think tank that focuses on health-related issues), wealth inequality is associated with infant mortality and female life expectancy. Increasing property prices will increase the wealth of owners, but will lock out those young – and increasingly middle-aged – workers from buying a home and into costly private rentals.
Wealth equality needs to be at the heart of social agendas
Consideration of wealth allows for more precise identification of those needing help and better-targeted policy interventions. There is a lot of theory about how access to and accumulation of wealth can help lift people out of poverty. Assets yield income, including financial income (pensions), non-financial benefits (housing), and capital gains (increased property values, savings interest). These provide protection similar to insurance and can smooth income across a person’s lifetime.
While wealth inequality is high and rising, it is not met with an equivalent level of public attention or political engagement. Currently, society doesn't view wealth inequality as a social problem in the same way as poverty. Wealth inequality drives patterns of uncertainty and even small amounts of wealth can safeguard people against poverty.
As we move into the new year, it is crucial that we put wealth equality at the heart of social change agendas in Wales.