8 people - $426 BILLION

Oxfam has just released a study comparing the eight wealthiest people in the world to the those at the bottom of the financial ladder (about half of the world).The eight people have as much wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity. The report attributes this inequality to businesses dodging taxes, driving down wages and using their power to influence politics. And the report goes on to say "many of the super-rich are not ‘self-made’. Oxfam analysis shows over half the world’s billionaires either inherited their wealth or accumulated it through industries which are prone to corruption and cronyism." Some other quotes: 

1 in 10 people survive on less than $2 a day.
The world could see its first trillionaire in just 25 years.
Seven out of 10 people live in a country that has seen a rise in inequality in the last 30 years. Between 1988 and 2011 the incomes of the poorest 10 percent increased by just $65 per person, while the incomes of the richest 1 percent grew by $11,800 per person – 182 times as much. 

Who are these 8?
Bill Gates: founder of Microsoft (net worth $75 billion) 
Amancio Ortega: owns the Zara fashion chain (net worth $67 billion) 
Warren Buffett: largest shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway (net worth $60.8 billion) 
Carlos Slim Helu: owner of Grupo Carso (net worth: $50 billion) 
Jeff Bezos:  founder of Amazon (net worth: $45.2 billion) 
Mark Zuckerberg: co-founder of Facebook (net worth $44.6 billion) 
Larry Ellison: co-founder of Oracle (net worth $43.6 billion) 
Michael Bloomberg: founder of Bloomberg LP (net worth: $40 billion)