( CNN ) Turns out , the rich really are getting richer . And they 'll soon own more than the rest of us put together . So says a new report , which estimates that the richest 1 % will have as much wealth as the other 99 % combined by next year . `` The richest 1 % have seen their share of global wealth increase from 44 % in 2009 to 48 % in 2014 , '' Oxfam says in a report Monday . At that rate , the wealthiest will own more than 50 % by next year , according to the report . `` Do we really want to live in a world where the 1 % own more than the rest of us combined ? '' asked Winnie Byanyima , executive director of the international aid agency . Byanyima will co-chair the annual World Economic Forum in Davos this week . She plans to use the platform at Davos to call for urgent action on the rising inequality . The 80 richest people on the planet have the same wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion people , the report says . `` 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 , '' she said . `` It is time our leaders took on the powerful vested interests that stand in the way of a fairer and more prosperous world . '' While 1 % of the population owns 48 % of the world 's wealth , a majority of the remainder follows the same trend . `` Of the remaining 52 % of global wealth , 46 % is owned by the rest of the richest fifth of the world 's population , '' the report says . The remainder of the population only possesses 5.5 % of global wealth . Their wealth last year ? An average $ 3,851 per adult , the report says . Meanwhile , the `` global elite '' members had an average wealth of $ 2.7 million each last year , it says . The report comes a day before President Barack Obama is expected to unveil proposals that close tax breaks on the wealthy . Obama will discuss his plans to help the middle class during his State of the Union Address on Tuesday .
Overall wealth of the richest 1 % will outpace that of the other 99 % by next year . `` The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering , '' Oxfam director says .