WHEN it comes to wealth, even the richest people think the rich have too much - but few Australians have any idea of how skewed the distribution really is.

A study prepared by Empirica Research and the Harvard Business School for the trade union movement as part of its planning for the October tax summit finds Australians of all incomes believe the richest 20 per cent have about 40 per cent of the wealth.

Australians aren't sure of the true inequality of wealth in the nation. Credit:Rob Young

Australians think that's too high. They would prefer a more egalitarian society in which the top 20 per cent have about 24 per cent of the wealth. They would also like the poorest 20 per cent to have 15 per cent, which is a good deal more than the 10 per cent we think they have.

The survey finds the nation oblivious to the far more skewed truth that the best-off 20 per cent have 60 per cent of the wealth and the worst-off 20 per cent a mere 1 per cent.