The world's richest 1% will own more than the rest put together by 2016, a new Oxfam report has warned.

Ahead of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the international organisation says their combined wealth will overtake that of the other 99% next year unless rising inequality is checked.

Oxfam warned that the 'explosion in inequality' is holding back the fight against global poverty at a time when one in nine people do not have enough to eat and more than a billion people still live on less than $1.25 (83p) a day.

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The Oxfam report shows the combined wealth of the world's richest 1% is set to overtake the rest by 2016

The international agency's executive director Winnie Byanyima, who will co-chair the Davos event, plans to use her position at the meeting to call for urgent action to stem this rising tide of inequality.

She plans to push for a crackdown on tax dodging by corporations, and for progress towards a global deal on climate change.

A research paper published today by Oxfam, with data from Credit Suisse, shows that the richest 1% have seen their share of global wealth rise from 44% in 2009 to 48% in 2014.

Oxfam's executive director Winnie Byanyima is calling for urgent action to battle inequality

At that rate, it will be more than 50% in 2016. Members of this global elite had an average wealth of $2.7million (£1.78million) per adult in 2014.

Of the remaining 52% of global wealth, almost all (46%) is owned by the rest of the richest fifth of the world's population.

The other 80% share just 5.5% and had an average wealth of $3,851 (£2,543) per adult - that is 1/700th of the average wealth of the 1%.

Ms Byanyima said: 'Do we really want to live in a world where the one per cent own more than the rest of us combined?

'The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering and despite the issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast.

'In the past 12 months we have seen world leaders from President Obama to Christine Lagarde talk more about tackling extreme inequality, but we are still waiting for many of them to walk the walk.

'It is time our leaders took on the powerful vested interests that stand in the way of a fairer and more prosperous world.

'Business as usual for the elite isn't a cost free option - failure to tackle inequality will set the fight against poverty back decades.

'The poor are hurt twice by rising inequality - they get a smaller share of the economic pie and because extreme inequality hurts growth, there is less pie to be shared around.'

Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Chief Executive Officer of EL Rothschild and chairman of the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism, who is speaking at a joint Oxfam-University of Oxford event on inequality today, called on business leaders meeting in Davos to play their part in tackling extreme inequality.

The wealth of the richest 80 people has doubled over the past five years, whereas the poorer half of the world's population is lower than it was in 2009

This graph illustrates the decline in wealth of the bottom 50% of the global population as the number of billionaires needed to accumulate the same wealth has drastically dropped

She said: 'Oxfam's report is just the latest evidence that inequality has reached shocking extremes, and continues to grow.

'It is time for the global leaders of modern capitalism, in addition to our politicians, to work to change the system to make it more inclusive, more equitable and more sustainable.

'Extreme inequality isn't just a moral wrong. It undermines economic growth and it threatens the private sector's bottom line.

'All those gathering at Davos who want a stable and prosperous world should make tackling inequality a top priority.

'Oxfam made headlines at Davos last year with the revelation that the 85 richest people on the planet have the same wealth as the poorest 50 per cent, 3.5 billion people.

'That figure is now 80 - a dramatic fall from 388 people in 2010. The wealth of the richest 80 doubled in cash terms between 2009-14.'