According to recently published survey by the World Economic Forum, worsening income and wealth inequality jumped to first place as the biggest risk for 2015, trumping unemployment. The World Economic Forum surveyed nearly 1,800 participants across every continent.
Survey participants hail from business, academic, government and international organizations. At the heart of the inequality discussions remains the issue of CEO compensation. In 2013, CEOs at some of America’s major companies earned on average nearly 296 times the salaries of their typical worker – this according to research from the Economic Policy Institute.
According to the Global Wealth Report published by Credit Suisse, the U.S. is the 7th most unequal country by wealth in the world. Russia is the most unequal. According to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, by some estimates, income and wealth inequality are near their highest levels in the past 100 years. The World Economic Forum identified other sources of economic concern for 2015. Persistence of joblessness ranks second in terms of the level of concern while a lack of leadership came in third.
