Authors: Branko Milanovic and Marco Ranaldi
Institution: Stone Center Working Paper Series no. 125
Date: February 2026
Abstract:
Global capital income inequality has declined in the 21st century, with the Gini coefficient falling from 97% to 94%. Over the same period, the share of the world population with annual capital income above $100 increased from 12% to 27%. This implies more than a doubling of the number of individuals earning positive income from interest, dividends, rents, and privately-funded pensions. Most Western nations have lost positions in the global capital income ranking, in contrast to several developing countries, particularly China and Russia. When adjusting for missing capital income in surveys using national accounts, while the levels of inequality slightly vary across adjustment methods, the results consistently confirm a decreasing inequality trend. This is also confirmed when the capitalized wealth of billionaires is included in the analysis using Forbes lists. Overall, this paper provides new global evidence on the evolution, distribution, and measurement of capital income, and highlights its implications for inequality analysis in contemporary capitalism.
