Extreme inequality on the rise in the UK

As extreme inequality grows, the six richest persons in the UK now control as much wealth as the poorest 13.0m, said research from the Equality Trust.

The top six billionaires in the UK held a combined fortune of £39.4bn, a figure that was roughly similar to the wealth in the hands of the poorest 13.2m Britons.

According to the research and data from Forbes and Credit Suisse, the six richest individuals were: Brothers Gopichand and Srichand Hinduja topping the table with a £12.8bn fortune; Sir Jim Ratcliffe with £9.2bn; the hedge fund manager Michael Platt, who has an estimated £6.1bn; and David and Simon Reuben,with a net worth of £5.7bn each.

At the same time, 14.0m people in Britain were living in poverty, with four million of those said to be more than 50% below the poverty line and 1.5m destitute.

“This report should shock anyone who cares about the state of the UK today,” said Dr Wanda Wyporska, the executive director of the Equality Trust.

“Such a huge gap between the very rich and the vast majority of the country is dangerous. Such extreme wealth in the hands of so few people demonstrates just how broken the economic system is.

“Behind the numbers, the UK’s extreme inequality is the story of Ferraris and food banks. Families across the country are working for their poverty and unable to promise their children a better, secure future."

In the campaign for the next general elections, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn vowed to tackle inequality by going after whathe termed were super-rich people whom he alleged were exploiting a “rigged system” to benefit themselves at the expense of the many.

Corbyn named five other members of what he termed “the elite” whom he would target if he became prime minister: Mike Ashley, Crispin Odey, Rupert Murdoch, Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster and Ratcliffe.