The world's richest 26 billionaires now have as much money as the poorest 3.8bn people on the planet

Just 26 billionaires now own as much wealth as the poorest 3.8billion people – half the world's population – combined, according to Oxfam.

A new report by the charity says the 26 richest men and women in the world control a combined £1.1trillion – equal to everything owned by the bottom 50 per cent of all people. But Oxfam was criticised for alleged flaws in its report and for pushing a hard-Left agenda that goes beyond its remit as a fundraising body. The charity counts anyone whose debt is greater than their assets as poorer than someone who is debt-free.