I was humbled and somewhat amazed when my wife mentioned this to me over lunch today:
Question: If all the net worth (money, assets, etc.) in the world were redistributed, so that every human being had the same amount, what would that amount be?
Answer: About $9,000
HT: Ask Marilyn
Wow. This should evoke (from all of us) thankfulness to God, and generous, wise stewardship of the incredible wealth that He’s entrusted to us. We can also observe the widespread economic blessings of a free, capitalistic economic system. For an excellent argument that wealth is actually created in such systems (not merely transferred), see Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem
Update: Keep in mind that $9000 goes a lot farther in some parts of the world than it does in the U.S. This in no way detracts from the importance of compassion for those in need. But part of the solution, particularly in the two-thirds world, is more freedom for individual citizens to own private property, and to steward it to reap a return on investment (which they are allowed to keep and re-invest). Wealth is created in such contexts, such that there are overall net gains (for the society as a whole), as we’ve seen (fantastically) in countries like the United States. Again, see the Richards book. [A lot of ministries assist with microloans for the indigenous poor, facilitating them to start small businesses. I’m told that these methods tend to work quite well.]