The World Inequality Database 2026 report: the top 0.001% — fewer than 60,000 individuals on a planet of 8 billion — controls three times more wealth than the entire bottom half of humanity combined.
Three times more. Than 4 billion people. Combined.
Oxfam data shows billionaires are 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary citizens. They are not just wealthy. They are governing.
“Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.” — Epicurus
Wealth at this level of concentration does not stay in bank accounts. It converts into lobbying power. Media ownership. Regulatory capture. The ability to write the tax code that protects your assets while raising costs for everyone beneath you.
This is not capitalism. Capitalism requires competition. What we have is extraction.
Public services are being defunded and privatized. Spending on agriculture has fallen 10.6% since 2019. One in four people globally faces food insecurity.
James 5:1-3 — “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten…”
Or are we too entertained to look up?
The Moral Decay Index Podcast names what others won’t. themoraldecayindex.com.