Toronto – May 16, 2017 – In 2017, the eight richest men globally are as wealthy as half of the world’s population, demonstrating the unprecedented rise in global wealth inequality in recent years.

8

The eight wealthiest people in the world are all men. Combined, they possess as much wealth as 3.6 billion people from the poorest half of the world's population.

2,043

The total number of billionaires around the world in 2017.

13%

The number of billionaires globally rose by 13 percent from the beginning of 2016 to the start of 2017.

$7.67 trillion

The total net worth of the world’s billionaires increased by a record-setting 18 percent to $7.67 trillion within the last year. 

233

The number of people who became billionaires within the last year. This is the largest increase in 31 years, since Forbes Magazine first started tracking billionaires globally.

565

The number of billionaires living in the United States in 2017. China trails behind with 319, while Germany and India are home to 114 and 101 billionaires, respectively.

16%

The average billionaires' fortune jumped by 16 percent last year.

56

The number of people under the age of 40 with a 10-figure fortune in 2017.

Canadians on the Forbes list include:

• David Thompson and family, owners of the Thomson Reuters media conglomerate, rank 24th globally with an estimated fortune of $27.2 billion USD.

• Galen Weston and family, owners of Loblaw Companies, rank 133rd with an estimated fortune of $9.5 billion USD.

• James K. Irving, owner of the J.D. Irving conglomerate, ranks 179th with an estimated fortune of $7.6 billion USD.

• Garett Camp, chairman of Uber, ranks 226th with an estimated fortune of $6.3 billion USD.

Sources: Forbes Magazine, "Forbes list of world's billionaires"; OXFAM, "An economy for the 99%"