Britain's five richest families worth more than poorest 20% of UK population

Britain’s five wealthiest families are worth more than the poorest 20% of the population according to a report from the charity Oxfam.

The combined wealth of the top five families in the UK is £28.2 billion, with the poorest 12.6 million Britons worth £28.1 billion according to the research.

Two of the country’s richest families have made their fortunes in real estate, and with London property prices increasing by nearly 15% over the last twelve months, this gap between the richest and poorest is only set to rise.

Britain’s most affluent family, the Grosevenors, are worth £7.9 billion, with much of their wealth derived from owning 190 acres of real estate around London’s Belgravia, with much of the land in the family since the 1670s. The family’s wealth is now worth more than that of the poorest 10% of the UK, 6.3 million people, combined.

The increasing inequality across Britain is a sign of “economic failure” according to Oxfam’s director of campaigns and policy, Ben Phillips, who said:

“Britain is becoming a deeply divided nation, with a wealthy elite who are seeing their incomes spiral up, while millions of families are struggling to make ends meet.

Increasing inequality is a sign of economic failure rather than success. It’s far from inevitable – a result of political choices that can be reversed. It’s time for our leaders to stand up and be counted on this issue.”

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