The Friday File: In 2017, the wealthiest 1% of the global population, 77 million people, was estimated to hold 50% of world wealth. Due to better data and estimates, it’s now estimated that they only hold 47% of global wealth; what a difference! To be in this group, your net worth must exceed $870,000. 31 million of these lucky folks live in the US, followed by 7 million in China.