Oxfam has warned that 1% of the world’s richest people by next year will own more than that of the remaining 99%.
Their research indicates that the wealthiest 1% have seen their share of global assets rise from 44% in 2009 to 48% last year - with an average worth of $2.7million (£1.8m) each. The figure is predicted to exceed 50% this year.
Below the richest fifth, 80% of the world's population own just 5.5% of wealth - an average of $3,851 (£2,500) each.
The charity is throwing the spotlight on growing inequality ahead of this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
In the UK, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, along with other leading Church of England figures called for an end to inequality in the nation.
Its report said that inequality trapped hard-working families on “poverty wages”.
Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam International executive director, said: "Do we really want to live in a world where the one per cent own more than the rest of us combined?
"The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering and despite the issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast.
"In the past 12 months we have seen world leaders from President Obama to Christine Lagarde talk more about tackling extreme inequality but we are still waiting for many of them to walk the walk.
"It is time our leaders took on the powerful vested interests that stand in the way of a fairer and more prosperous world.
"Business as usual for the elite isn't a cost free option - failure to tackle inequality will set the fight against poverty back decades.
"The poor are hurt twice by rising inequality - they get a smaller share of the economic pie and because extreme inequality hurts growth, there is less pie to be shared around."
