The accumulated wealth of the world's eight richest men amounting to $426 billion was found to be more than what half of the world's population have, according to an analysis by charity organization Oxfam. 

The number was lambasted by the group, calling it "beyond grotesque," as reported by The Mirror.

The eight multibillionaires, namely, Bill Gates ($75 billion), Amancio Ortega ($67 billion), Warren Buffet ($60.8 billion), Carlos Slim Helu ($50 billion), Jeff Bezos ($45.2 billion), Mark Zuckerberg ($44.6 billion), Larry Ellison ($43.6 billion), and Michael Bloomberg ($40 billion) rivaled the $409 billion combined wealth of some 3.6 billion people from around the world.

"This year's snapshot of inequality is clearer, more accurate and more shocking than ever before. It is beyond grotesque that a group of men who could easily fit in a single golf buggy own more than the poorest half of humanity," said Mark Goldring, Oxfam GB Chief Executive. The Oxfam report titled "An Economy for the 99%" released the figures ahead of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The report noted that "growing inequality threatens to pull our societies apart. It increases crime and insecurity, and undermines the fight to end poverty. It leaves more people living in fear and fewer in hope," and that "corporations and super-rich individuals both play a key role" in the inequality and the widening gap between the rich and the poor. It also mentioned several reasons that contribute to the inequality, including corporations dodging taxes, squeezing workers and producers, practicing crony capitalism, and working only for the rich.

Moreover, the report found that the income of the poorest 10 percent rose to only $65, between 1998 to 2011, a stark contrast to the income of the richest one percent of the world, which increased by $11,800 or 182 times as much.

World leaders have condemned the widening inequality, like Pope Francis who, back in 2013, emphasized the need to look for ways with which everyone benefits from the fruits of the earth to uphold "justice, equality and respect for every human being."