A study by academics Peter Phillips and Brady Osborne, part of the soon-to-be-published Project Censored 2014, reveals just how far the global concentration of capital has advanced.
The two researchers have analysed the top ten asset management companies and the top ten most centralised corporations in the world, identifying between them just thirteen firms, with 161 directors, that dominate the financial core of capitalism worldwide. These firms collectively control funds worth $23.91 trillion – roughly ten times Britain’s entire annual GDP.
The analysis goes further, presenting a history and analysis of wealth, the individuals and the companies, the relationship to the US military and NATO as their effective enforcers worldwide. More detailed studies of the US economy show that the 2.5 per cent most wealthy US citizens increased their wealth by 75 per cent between 1983 and 2009, while 80 per cent of US households saw their income reduce.
In practical terms that equates to the top 1 per cent having an average household wealth of $14 million dollars, while 47 per cent of the US population have an average household wealth of zero dollars.
Project Censored 2014: Fearless Speech in Fateful Times, Project Censored, will be available at projectcentral.org/store, $19.95. ■