Forbes Rich List: Wealth Increased By 38%

Forbes released the 2011 Rich List.  "Shockingly" it appears that the world's wealthiest are getting even wealthier.  For example:

• "More than 200 people joined the billionaires list..."
• "The collective wealth of the billionaires on the list also hit a new record of $4.5tn"
• "There are 648 billionaires who increased their wealth in the past year. The fortunes of 160 fell, while 146 stayed even."

How is it possible that the richest people in the world are continuing to get richer in the midst of a global economic recession and a long-term decline in industrial profitability?

Accumulation of wealth is always a redistribution of wealth - skewed in favor of the wealthy.  Thus, as the richest people get richer, everyone else will necessarily become poorer.  The world does not possess unlimited resources and labor power; total value is limited.  The more surplus value that is appropriated by a handful of individuals, the less there is for everyone else in the world.

So, the world's richest increased their wealth by 38% in the face of a global economic recession.  Meanwhile, more than a billion of the world's 6.91 billion population lives on less than $1 a day.