http://www.globalrichlist.com/

This is based on a couple of flawed premises.

First: "Income" and "wealth" are 2 different things. They treat them as identical in order to guilt some ignorant sap into giving to the charities they favor. Plus, they are again trying to make the case that wealth is unfairly concentrated when in reality it's CAPITALISM that is unfairly concentrated.

Go back and put $20,000 in income into their little JavaScript and see where it puts you. I'll save you the time: $20,000 US puts you in the top 11% of "rich people" world wide. Does that sound right to you? The fact of the matter is that you can only live where you live. The person living on $20,000 in the U.S. cannot ditty-bop off to Angola to buy groceries. So his income may be incomprehensibly large to an Angolan, but that doesn't mean jack squat in the reality of his life.

Second: It's the absolute perfect distillation of leftist Wrongthink about "the rich". The "rich" are the most generous people in our country. By far. They are already giving enormous amounts of money. People who are envious of what others have always assume the others cheated to get it. Stepped on necks, screwed people over, inherited a trust fund, hoarded money like Ebenezer Scrooge. So they assume "the rich" are stingy wretches who'd sooner take a beating than help someone in need. In reality, around 80% of America's millionaires are first generation wealthy - they didn't inherit a thing. They built the wealth over a period of 20-25 years by serving customers well, buy increasing their value in the marketplace through continuing education, and by employing habits that lead to wealth (including continual charitable giving). The political left's misunderstanding about the economy, those who succeed in it, the results of that success, all cause them to imagine that the rest of us need to be hectored or forced to be generous - because they themselves ARE NOT.

guilt some ignorant sap into giving to the charities they favor.

What charities do they favor?

I think the point is that you are blessed to live where you do.

It is easier to make money in areas with fertile lands and stable governments.

I didn't pick up on right/left issues.

I'll just be grateful I am very comfortable and never miss a meal.

What charities do they favor?

The ones they get paid to funnel donations to.

I think the point is that you are blessed to live where you do.

I agree, but I seriously doubt they would agree with my assessment of the U.S.'s exceptional nature and why it is so unique.

It is easier to make money in areas with fertile lands and stable governments.

Mexico has a tons of fertile land, tons of natural resources, tons of hard working people, and a very stable government. And the end result is awful. What makes us different? Why is life on one side of an invisible line good and on the other, disastrous?

I didn't pick up on right/left issues.

The idea that income = wealth is by no means confined to the political left, but the idea that you "owe" something back for having a high income is usually lofted by the left. This particular group seems very well intentioned, in effect helping charities do marketing and collect government handouts. But what always chafes me is the first idea: income = wealth and "here's what one hour of your labor could be doing if you weren't so consumed with having a nice TV".

I'll just be grateful I am very comfortable and never miss a meal.

Me too. And I'll continue to give money to charities and missions that try to address the core problem of teaching a man to fish. I have a deep appreciation for the fact that we live in a country where any man can raise himself and his family up. I buy my tobacco from an first generation Indian immigrant family. They work endless hours, have just bought a second store, drive very modest old cars, have their children in the same supplemental advanced math and reading program mine are in, and will likely send those kids to universities after which they will become successful themselves, and in one and a half generations, the family will be genuinely wealthy. Before America came along, and in the vast majority of the rest of the world today, that's simply not possible. I love that it is possible here, and that the most likely outcome of wealth being created in this country is generous giving to others.