Rethink... wealth

Rethink considers how we might take a different approach to the issues of our time, asking some of the brightest minds what we could do to make the world a better place.

This week: billionaires. They are some of the wealthiest people who have ever lived - a tiny group with a large influence on politics, society and the lives of millions.

The gap between the super rich and everyone else is huge. According to Credit Suisse, just fourteen billionaires own fourteen percent of the world’s entire wealth.

Should we cap the wealth of the super rich? Philosopher Ingrid Robeyns has developed the concept of "limitarianism". This would limit an individual's wealth to 10 million dollars, pounds or euros - or whatever the local currency is - with anything beyond that point confiscated by governments.

So is this theft?

Socialism gone mad?

A good idea?

Or something that governments must do?

Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Lucy Burns Editor: Clare Fordham

Contributors: Ingrid Robeyns, professor of Ethics of Institutions at Utrecht University and author of "Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth"

Liam Byrne, Labour MP and author of the book "The Inequality of Wealth" Sam Dumitriu, author and head of policy at campaign group Britain Remade Helen Miller, Deputy Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and head of their tax sector