Interesting Facts

According to a study by Swiss bank UBS, the number of female billionaires worldwide has increased nearly sevenfold in the past 20 years to 145. (In fact, women have outpaced men when it comes to membership of the billionaires’ club, with their ranks and wealth growing at faster rates.  The number of male billionaires has only grown by a factor of 5.2, that said, there are 1,202 male billionaires. I haven't even joined the millionaire club.  Has anyone got a membership card I can borrow?)

According to the Halifax bank, over the last 27 years pocket money in the UK has outstripped wages with payouts to children up 462%. (Children have seen a rise from on average  £1.13 a week to  £6.35, but over the same period, the typical annual wage for working adults has increased by just 188%, from £11,648 in 1987 to £33,511 in 2014. I think the difference is that children aren't afraid to ask for a rise.  After all, no one is going to sack them because they cost too much, are they?) Of course parents paying out pocket money might want to click here (sorry kids).

According to the Halifax bank, the average Brit believes they have £1.61 lurking down the back of their sofa. (This means home owners are sitting on more than £40 million in loose change.  And that's not the only place you'll find a few pennies lying around: Two-thirds of people admit to regularly finding loose coins in pockets, bags and cars, but desk drawers usually contain the largest amount of cash. On average, people believe they have £17.69 just lying around the UK. Can you guess what I'm going to do now?)

According to a report conducted by the United Nations crime unit, Interpol and the World Bank. Somali pirates and their peers hijacking vessels in the region made about $400 million in ransom over the past eight years. (What did they spend their ill-gotten gains on?  Drugs (especially khat), alcohol, women, and believe it or not, real estate. I wonder if they phone Kirsty and Phil?)

I'm not going to pretend to understand Bitcoins, or how they work, but I've been told they are hard to forge or duplicate, and easy to trade with.  However it now seems that if you know what you’re doing, they are pretty easy to steal too. (In 2013, someone stole up to $100 million in the digital currency from “Sheep Marketplace", and now Mt.Gox in Japan (said to be the one of the earliest online exchanges of these ubiquitous bits of code) has disappeared. The website has been shut down, their Twitter account deleted, allegedly because all the BitCoins had been stolen, 744,000 Bitcoins worth about $350,000,000.00. As a result the value of Bitcoins has plummeted. They didn't even need a swag bag to carry it all in.)

Barclays, Britain's third-largest bank, has announced it is going to cut between 10 and 12,000 jobs worldwide, 7,000 based in the UK. (This is on top of the 7,650 jobs it cut in 2013. The reason for the cuts is a downturn in profits, but here's where the money doesn't add up - they are paying out £2.4 billion in bonuses and other "incentives". I'm glad I don't bank with them, as changing bank accounts is a fiddly business in the UK.)

According to campaign group the Robin Hood Tax campaign a total of £67.7 billion in bonuses has been paid to finance staff in the UK since 2008. (Bankers' bonuses are traditionally paid or awarded to workers in the finance industry at the end of the bank's financial year. This year's bonus round is coming up, so this amount will go up.)

According to research by online bank First Direct, you now need £3million to be able to live like a millionaire. (Today’s jet-setters need almost £3 million to buy the millionaire lifestyle, compared with 20 years ago. Here it is broken down for you:- Millionaire’s lifestyle in 1992 House in Kensington - £345,920 Rolls Royce Phantom - £111,894 Sea-faring yacht - £301,360 Men’s designer watch - £14,880 Women’s designer watch - £13,550 3.5 carat diamond necklace - £9,130 32 night Caribbean cruise - £7,770 Holiday home in St Just, Cornwall - £51, 707 Villa in Tuscany - £138,800 TOTAL: £995,011 Millionaire’s lifestyle in 2012 House in Kensington - £1,362,930 Rolls Royce Phantom - £285,200 Sea-faring yacht - £509,000 Men’s top of the range designer watch - £25,270 Women’s top of the range designer watch - £23,000 3.5 carat diamond necklace - £15,500 32 night Caribbean cruise - £13,200 Holiday home in St Just, Cornwall - £149,950 Villa in Tuscany - £235,6...

According to research by online bank First Direct, the cost of living i n the UK   has gone up by 163% in 20 years. (The problem is average salaries have not kept pace, increasing by just 100%.  I knew I felt poorer!) 

To date the Bank of England has never issued a £500,000 note.  (However, if someone printed a fake  £500,000 note it would not technically be a counterfeit, because to be counterfeit the money needs to be legal tender.   So, be warned, there's no such thing as a £500,000 note!)