Do 8 men really control same wealth as poorest half of global population?

A new Oxfam Report has a number of startling claims about wealth inequality around the world – the world’s eight richest people control the same wealth as the poorest half of the globe’s population, Australia’s two richest billionaires are wealthier than the bottom 20% of the population, while the two richest Canadians are richer than the bottom 30% of Canada’s population.

Oxfam has published similar reports for a number of years, released just before the annual World Economic Forum.

The methodology has been criticised in the past by free market think tanks in the UK as well the the Australian