WEALTH INEQUALITY As there was in the Greenland Viking colony, there is disparity in wealth worldwide. The World Bank estimates that about 40% of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day; almost half of the 2.2 billion children worldwide live in poverty. A small percentage of our population (perhaps 20%) controls 80% of all resources. Actions by the wealthy today that degrade the environment degrade it for all sooner or later.