The Global Prosperity Elephant Curve

Between 1988 and 2008, the world economy grew in a shape resembling an elephant. While the super-rich thrived, the global middle class saw their incomes soar even faster, leaving the poor behind.

This graph tracks global income shifts across two decades. The trunk of the elephant represents the massive wealth gains of the ultra-wealthy, while the high back represents the booming middle class in developing nations like China and India. Unfortunately, the dip before the trunk shows that the world's poorest populations were largely left out of this economic progress. It serves as a visual reminder of how globalization has reshaped the gap between different social classes.