Richest 1% income share hits 40-year high, Data since 1910 shows
Published on: April 25, 2026, 11:24 a.m. | Source: Zee News
The richest one percent of people are earning a larger share of total income than at any point in the last four decades — and in India, the concentration is almost back to pre-independence levels. Data from the World Inequality Database tracking 1910 to 2024 shows a clear U-shaped pattern: inequality fell sharply between 1950 and 1980 due to deliberate government policies, then reversed after 1980 as liberalisation and globalisation concentrated gains at the top. The trend is global, consistent, and still rising.
