Russia is the most unequal country

Which Country Has the Widest Wealth Gap? Hint: It's Not the U.S.

Robert Frank

HaIf you think inequality in the U.S. is bad, consider Russia. According to a new ranking, Russia is the most unequal country in the world, with the highest share of national wealth held by those in its top 10 percent. The ranking, part of the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, found that Russia has 84.8 percent of its wealth held by its top 10 percent.

That's far above any other country in the world when it comes to wealth inequality. Not even second-place Turkey (with 77.7 percent) and third-place Hong Kong (77.5 percent) come close. The U.S. ranked in seventh place, with 74.6 percent of its wealth held by the top 10 percent, just behind Thailand, with 75 percent. The most equal countries, in terms of wealth distribution, were Belgium (with 47.2 percent) followed by Japan (48.5 percent) and Australia (51.1 percent).