A study of the richest people in Britain challenges the famous economist Thomas Piketty's theory about wealth

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May 16, 2017 8:36 AM

'The Sunday Times Rich List data challenges the idea that wealth sits in the same families’ pockets for generation after generation.'

French economist and academic Thomas Piketty, poses in his book-lined office at the French School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), in Paris May 12, 2014.

Thomas Piketty is a rockstar economist who shot to fame in 2013 when he published his book "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," which focuses on wealth and income inequality.

"The Sunday Times Rich List data challenges the idea that wealth sits in the same families’ pockets for generation after generation. The very rich are a changing cast of people," said Professor Douglas McWilliams, who conducted the research, to The Sunday Times. McWilliams is set to feature his findings in a forthcoming book called "The Inequality Paradox."

The Sunday Times Rich List data challenges the idea that wealth sits in the same families’ pockets for generation after generation

"The reality is that there is a lot of truth in the old Lancashire term 'from clogs to clogs in three generations'."

He then joined Jeremy Corbyn's economic advisory council for the Labour party in 2015 on the leader's pledge to cut UK austerity implemented by the Conservative government. The council was set to meet four times a year to prep shadow chancellor John McDonnell and give lectures to MPs on economic matters in Westminster.

However, a number of analysts and economists have criticised Piketty's findings. The most notably being the Financial Times which questioned Piketty’s conclusion

Piketty also then quit in June, 2016, just one week after the EU referendum,he was "deeply concerned" with the prospect of a Brexit.

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