Confirming yet again that the global "recovery" benefits some (very few) more than others (the non-very few), is the latest news out of the UK where the Sunday Times reports that the 1000 richest Britons now hold a cumulative £519 billion in wealth: a number which increased by 15% in the past year as the real disposable incomes of the non-richest declined. Putting this number in context, the "most well-off Britons now own the equivalent of a third of the country's gross domestic product (GDP)." Another way of looking at it: the wealth of 1000 Britons is 3.5x greater than the GDP of Greece.
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More from SkyNews [9]on a phenomenon which Marxist scholars everywhere are scratching their heads over, when the wrinkled answer is staring them all in the face from the Marriner Eccles building.
As well as the familiar names of Sir Richard Branson, Roman Abramovich and Sir Philip Green, the 2014 list features a number of new entrants.
They include Riccardo Zacconi, chief executive of King Digital Entertainment, and three other staff at the company behind the hugely popular Candy Crush Saga game.
Former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy and the brothers who masterminded the Grand Theft Auto franchise, Dan and Sam Houser, also join the top 1,000.
Philip Beresford, who has compiled the Rich List since 1989, said: "I've never seen such a phenomenal rise in personal wealth as the growth in the fortunes of Britain's 1,000 richest people over the past year.
"The richest people in Britain have had an astonishing year.
"While some may criticise them, many of these people are at the heart of the economy and their success brings more jobs and more wealth for the country."
This year's Rich List features 114 women - down four from 2013 but up 36 on a decade ago.
They include Tamara Mellon, who co-founded the Jimmy Choo shoes brand, and Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
The majority of those on the list live in London, with 438 of the
richest 1,000 - collectively worth £331bn - calling the capital their
home.
Hardly a surprise, considering the UK housing bubble is now officially on par with that of China (more shortly), and "suddenly" even the BOE's Mark Carney is waking up to this particular reality [10].