Linda McQuaig – Prolific journalist, critic, and author of “Billionaires’ Ball: Gluttony and Hubris in an Age of Epic Inequality”

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How about a few fun facts, just to start your day off right:

• A mere 0.5% of the world’s population owns an eye-popping 38.5% of its total wealth
• Meanwhile, the bottom 2/3 of the population only account for 3.3% of the total wealth
• One-third of the world’s millionaires live in the United States, more than the next 3 countries combined
• According to Credit Suisse, “The past decade has been especially conducive to the establishment of large fortunes”. You can download the entire report here.

What? You aren’t one of these rich people? Sucks for us, doesn’t it?

The last bullet point is an important one.  We are always going to have wealthy people, but the circumstances that allow for the accumulation of wealth have never been better.   Taxes are at a historical low, regulation on investment has been minimized, capital gains taxes are low, and tax loopholes greatly favor the rich! Seems tough for the little guy.  With the most recent election, the country made a statement about the need for equality in all aspects of life – specifically from a financial perspective.  But how do we do that? Listen to this week’s episode…that’s how.

Linda McQuaig is a prolific and well-known Canadian journalist, columnist, non-fiction author and social critic.  Her most recent book, “Billionaires’ Ball: Gluttony and Hubris in an Age of Epic Inequality”, was written alongside Professor Neil Brooks, a tax professor at Osgoode Hall Law School.  In this book, McQuaig and Brooks talk about the dangers that come with such concentrated wealth.