THE WORLD’S 62 wealthiest people own as much as the globe’s poorest half— around 3.6 billion people, Oxfam revealed yesterday.

The total riches of the group — just nine of whom are women — has increased to £1.22 trillion since 2010, yet their wealth has not led to higher tax revenues to help the most needy.

In comparison, the wealth of the poorest half of the world fell by £694bn over the same time, even though the number of people in this group rose by a colossal 400 million.