What's happening?

In the 1800s, doctors told wealthyHaving a lot of money or assets. people to go Davos in SwitzerlandA country in central Europe, known for mountains, lakes and skiing. . They thought its cold weather would keep people healthy.

Now, rich people still meet in Davos - but today, it is for yearly meetings of the World Economic ForumAn independent organisation based in Switzerland which is committed to improving the world., where the powerful talk about worldwide issues.

One thing has changed: rich people have got a lot richer. The richest man in the mid-1800s had money worth about £2.35bn today. In 2024, Elon MuskA South African-born entrepreneur whose companies have included the online payment service PayPal. He now controls Twitter, renamed 'X'. has 80 times as much money - £197bn.

It is not just that the rich have got richer. The poor have got poorer as well. Nearly 800 million workers worldwide have lost more than a trillion dollars in the last two years.

Some think this is simply wrong. They argue it is time to have a limitA level which you cannot go beyond. on how much money one person can have. For one thing, the world's richest spend money on things such as private planes - which is bad for the planet. Their money, they say, should be shared out between the world's poorest people.

Find out more

But others say this is a bad idea. Some of the world's best ideas have come from people who wanted to become rich - if they knew they could not, they might not try. And some wealthy people also use their money to help other people. Bill GatesFounder and former CEO of Microsoft, the company responsible for popularising household computers in the 80s (and still one of the major global tech companies). His house on the shores of Lake Washington is called Xanadu 2.0. It took seven years to build and is seen as an early example of a smart home. is an example.

Should there be a limit to wealth?

Yes! The very very rich are not good for the world. The luckiest people should be forced to share their luck with the rest of the planet.

No! It is not right to take money away from people who have done nothing wrong. We should ask them to spend it in ways that help others - but we should not make them.