Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
According to investment bank Merrill Lynch and consultancy firm Capgemini's the 11th annual study of 71 countries, the wealth of the super-rich rose by 11.4 per cent last year - the highest growth in seven years.
When you take into consideration the fact that six per cent of the world's population controls 59 per cent of the world's wealth, that's a very scary thought indeed and doesn't leave much hope for the remaining 94 per cent of planet.
There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel for the world's poor, with charitable donations reaching a world-record of $285 billion - aided in large part by Warren Buffet, the world's second richest man, who donated 85 per cent of the $45 billion earned from his lifetime of investments to a foundation established by Microsoft's Bill Gates and his wife Melinda.
It also seems that the current trend for the world's super-rich is to turn their children into philanthropists -_instead of waste-of-space-money squanderers - by sending them to workshops that encourage them to think about ways they can change the world and consider which charities to donate their money to.
The courses, introduced in the UK by charity organisation New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), advise donors on effective ways to give their money away and have some parents organising two-day workshops for children as young as 11.
What a brilliant idea! Introducing a child that young to the idea that not everyone in the world is as fortunate as them and that it's their duty to help those so much less fortunate than themselves can only be a good thing.
As they grow up they will continue to do charitable work and make donations which, in turn, will show their children the importance of continuing the good work.
Philanthropy is a duty of the super-rich. You can't take your money with you when you die and there's only so much your own children can get through in their life time.
No matter how rich the family, the young should be fully aware of the value of money and be out there earning for themselves and not just living off the hard work of their parents and grandparents.
It seems that Baron Hilton (grandfather of famous-for-being-famous, Paris Hilton) had it right when it emerged last week that he was donating 97 per cent of his $2.3 billion fortune to charity - still leaving a whopping $69 million to be inherited by his family.
It's enough to make your eyes water and no matter how much of a waste of space Paris Hilton might appear to be, and no matter how much we may mock her, at the end of the day, she's laughing all the way to the bank.
