The wealthiest vs. the richest

The list of 20 wealthiest countries in terms of private wealth held by individuals has just been published. Johannesburg-based The New World Wealth, a research consultancy, does the tracking of the global wealth sector. So far as the finding is concerned, it does not necessarily mean that the countries in the list are the richest in the order their private owners of wealth are. At the top of the list is the United States of America (USA) with $ 48,734 billion in its private hands. In second place, surprisingly, is communist China. Japan follows in the third spot.
Now the USA economy driven by its private entrepreneurs should naturally get concentrated in the hands of individuals like Bill Gates and giant conglomerates. Behind spectacular Japanese industrialisation, the same principle of entrepreneurship has acted as the driving force. But Chinese perspective is different. Now it seems the socialist principle has been rather selective when it comes to manufacture and productivity.
In many other countries like Great Britain, Germany, Italy and even in India, industrialisation has been taken ahead by private initiatives. It is not surprising that all these countries have found a slot among the top 10 nations where wealth held by private owners is large. Significantly, Russia could not gatecrash into the list of the top 10. But at the rate the number of Roman Ambramovichs has been rising since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, it will soon earn a place among the top 10 in this category.
What is significant is that none of these countries has the top billing when the list of the 10 richest countries is prepared. The Global Finance Magazine considers the richest countries in terms of per capita of GDP. On that count, none of the wealthiest nations in terms of private ownership figures among the top five. Instead, Qatar with the highest per capita gross domestic output GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) is the richest in the world. It has a per capita GDP of $145,894. Luxembourg follows it with $ 90,333 and then comes Singapore with per capita GDP of $78,762. The US is the distant 7th with GDP at PPP $53,001.
The contrast, though, is remarkable. A good number of the richest countries are those that have huge natural resources. But the island country Singapore with almost no natural resources has found its place in the list of the richest 10 in terms of GDP at PPP. This indicates that here is a nation that has recognised private initiatives in wealth creation as well as struck a balance in its distribution. In fact, the domestic product data of GDP at PPP is a reflection of the standard of living in a country. How well citizen of a country live is best understood by its PPP. GDP at PPP throws ample light on it. No wonder India was at 130th in this list last time.
Many of the countries at the top of the wealthy list have a dismal performance in terms of giving their citizens a highly desirable life although their economy more than permits it. Disparaged socialism is now an anathema as a political theory. But many of its virtues are not. The dream of an egalitarian society has long faded in the distant horizion but it is natural for human beings to cherish a life free from hunger and want. When wealth continues to concentrate in a few hands, the rest have to struggle hard to live such a life. It is because of this there is a need for rational distribution of wealth and amply rewarding labour and talent.