If you combined the economies of the United States and Japan, you would have the dollar equivalent of the amount of money being stashed away by the super-rich of the world in offshore tax havens.

 

A new report from the Tax Justice Network found $21 trillion was hidden in foreign bank accounts in 2010. This amount is equal to the combined economic output of Japan and the U.S. each year.

 

Overall, there may be as much as $32 trillion held in offshore accounts, such as those located in banks found in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

 

“These estimates reveal a staggering failure: inequality is much, much worse than official statistics show, but politicians are still relying on trickle-down to transfer wealth to poorer people,” said John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network. “People on the street have no illusions about how unfair the situation has become.”

 

Three banks handle most of these assets offshore: UBS, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs.

 

The $21 trillion in offshore accounts was controlled by fewer than 10 million people, and only 1% (100,000) owned $9.8 trillion of the wealth.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

Revealed: Global Super-rich has at least $21 Trillion Hidden in Secret Tax Havens (Tax Justice Network)

Revised Estimates of Private Banking Under Management and Total Client Assets (Tax Justice Network)