Interesting Facts

According to a survey conducted by uSwitch.com, 7 out of 10 Brits say they are middle-class, with a strong belief that middle-class people are more likely to be successful. (Only 53% think their parents were white-collar workers, and 6 out of 10 say their grandparents were working class. Fewer than a third of those who called themselves middle class were in a profession — such as lawyer or doctor, even though 3/4 of people believe being a professional is the top reason for being middle-class. The poll also showed that less than a 1/3of us believe our parents’ class or family wealth determines our status, which is just as well in my case, I'd have to go back down t' mine.) Search for "Class" if you want to learn more about the Class system in the UK.

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 a report, commissioned by property company CBRE, people who play organised sport tend to be £500,000 better off than people who don't. (Experts say that organised sports such as cycling , football, rugby, etc. can boost a person's annual salary significantly due to the skills they gain from participating in group activities, which over an average 47-year career could amount to a significant boost of £522,000 in wages . Of course, you could argue that people who earn a lot have more disposable income to play sport.  That said, I wonder if disorganised canoeing counts.)

According to economist James Henry financial assets held offshore round the world are worth “at least” $21tn and perhaps as much as $32tn. (He calculated that £6.3trillion of these assets are owned by just 92,000 people – or 0.001 per cent of the world’s population. The international campaign group Tax Justice Network, which commissioned the research estimates that around $250billion is lost in taxes each year by governments worldwide as a result of the wealthiest individuals holding their assets offshore.) Source

According to a study carried out by psychologists at the University of California in Berkeley, USA, members of the upper classes are more likely to lie, cheat and even break the law than people from less privileged backgrounds. (The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, concluded that those from rich or powerful backgrounds appeared greedier, more likely to lie in negotiation and more likely to cheat. Is this really a surprise? They didn't get rich by being nice.)

According to Forbes magazine's rich list, the collective wealth of billionaires around the world is a staggering $4.5tn. (More than 200 people joined the billionaires list as their numbers rose to a new record of 1,210, Forbes said. I guess it's a bit passée to be a millionaire nowadays - not that I'll ever know for sure.)

According to a study carried out by a team at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) the wealthiest people are those that had the most friends at school. (They studied 10,000 students over a period of 35 years and the results suggest that each extra school friend adds 2% to your salary. I wonder how many friends Bill Gates had.)