If the headline isn't staggering enough, this report from the World Institute for Development Economics Research at the UN University, also says the poorer half of the world's population own barely 1% of global wealth.

This worldwide inequality study is distinctive from various others in that it:

• is extensive:  It covers all the countries in the world through either actual data or estimates based on statistical analysis; and it looks at
  
• examines wealth (vs. income): Wealth, defined as "what people own, less what they owe - their debts. Assets include land, buildings, animals and financial assets."

Despite such inequality, distribution of wealth in the 21st Century has been moving rapidly toward even greater concentration of wealth, according to the non-partisan, non-profit UFE.

The world order has traditionally been a top-down system where "the halves" look to governments for taxation and regulation, or political systems (socialism, communism) to redistribute wealth to those "have nots."

Yet, the social web is enabling bottoms-up movements in new and interesting ways.   We believe smart brands, jet-powered by one-to-one mobilization potential, can create strategic advantage by forging private-individual partnerships in new ways to help those less fortunate.

Are you seeing examples of this happening? Please let us know.