Link of the Day: Global Rich List

If you’re feeling down about your job, or you’re in need of a little perspective, then you might want to take a moment to visit the Global Rich List. Enter your annual income, and you’ll be given your rank among the world’s richest people.

To give you an example, my mid-level job at a small non-profit organization puts me well within the top two percent of the richest people on the planet.

That’s a pretty impressive figure, but it’s not a figure I can take any credit for; the point is obviously to drive home the huge economic disparity between the rich and the poor in our society, and between the rich and poor countries of the world. Give it a try with your own annual income and see where you end up ranking.

“Three decades ago,” the site points out, “the people in well-to-do countries were 30 times better off than those in countries where the poorest 20 percent of the world’s people live. By 1998, this gap had widened to 82 times.”

If your rank among the world’s wealthy surprises you, and you’re moved to do something to “redress the balance,” you can take one of any number of actions and put your money to work. At the moment, for example, the Global Rich List is supporting an organization called CARE.

Posted in Link of the Day