Fiscal administrative data sources for the last centuiy indicate that the widely observed rise in top incomes in the rich countries (OECD, forthcoming) is also true of China, India, Indonesia, Argentina and South Africa (Alvaredo et al., Figure 4.7 shows that the richest 1%’s share of national income has grown significantly in those countries over the last two decades. On the one hand, there are those who perceive high earnings as the right reward for talent or hard work and who see the possibility of high earnings as an opportunity.