The combined wealth of the world's richest 1 percent could overtake that of the other 99 percent by 2016, according to a report by Oxfam published Monday, as billionaires, politicians and business leaders gather in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum. In a study called "Wealth: Having it all and wanting more." the international charity warned that a sharp rise in inequality was holding back the fight against global poverty at a time when 1 in 9 people do not have enough to eat and more than a billion people live on less than $1.25 a day. Read MoreThe rich and famous visit Davos

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Of the remaining 52 percent of global wealth in 2014, about 46 percent was owned by the rest of the richest fifth of the world's population. The other 80 percent of the world shared around 5.5 percent, according to Oxfam. Rising inequality has moved into the spotlight in recent years amid concerns that living standards have been hit by slow economic recovery in the wake of the global financial crisis. In a report published last month, U.K.-based think-tank New Economics Foundation said that rising economic inequality was a major cause of the financial crisis and urged the need to implement policies that reduced inequality. While French economist Thomas Piketty's well-known book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," warned that the global economy would be hurt if rising inequality is left unchecked. Read More'Enormous increase' in global inequality: OECD

