Attention, Protestors: You're Probably Part of the 1% [$34,000 = richest 1% on a global level]

yahoo.com ^ | October 28, 2011 | Morgan Housel

[grundle]

The recent Occupy Wall Street protests have aimed their message at the income disparity between the 1% richest Americans and the rest of the country. But what happens when you expand that and look at the 1% richest of the entire world? Some really interesting numbers emerge. If there were a global Occupy Wall Street protest, people as well off as Linda Frakes might actually be the target.

In America, the top 1% earn more than $380,000 per year. We are, however, among the richest nations on Earth. How much do you need to earn to be among the top 1% of the world?

$34,000.

That was the finding World Bank economist Branko Milanovic presented in his 2010 book The Haves and the Have-Nots. Going down the distribution ladder may be just as surprising. To be in the top half of the globe, you need to earn just $1,225 a year. For the top 20%, it's $5,000 per year. Enter the top 10% with $12,000 a year. To be included in the top 0.1% requires an annual income of $70,000.

[Kirkwood]

obama’s War on Affluence.

[dsrtsage]

I have traveled extensively over the decades, and have preached exactly this to mostly deaf ears

[SandwicheGuy]

I have traveled extensively over the decades, and have preached exactly this to mostly deaf ears

Ditto. You tag line says it all, quite humorously.