Only 1% Of Brits Own 70% Of Land In UK, Ireland

In what seems to be an indictment of still-feudal Britain, investigative journalist Kevin Cahill confirmed that less than 1% of the people in the UK and Ireland own 70% of all the land in his book “Who Owns Britain,” Mihai Andrei reported for ZME Science.

Over the centuries, laws and practices have evolved to protect and perpetuate the land holdings of the aristocracy and elite, often at the expense of broader public ownership and access.

Cahill said 0.3% of the British population owns 66% of the country, and these 160,000 families who own two-thirds of Great Britain largely descend from the army of William the Conqueror — the first Norman King of England who conquered the country in 1066.

Cahill’s research traces the roots of current land ownership patterns back to the Norman Conquest of 1066.

In the book, he explains that the introduction of the feudal system by William the Conqueror saw the Crown claiming ownership of all land, which was then parcelled out to loyal nobles.

This moment basically set the stage for a legacy of concentrated land ownership. Strikingly, this one decision by a king in the 11th century still greatly affects the UK now.

This accumulation of wealth in the hands of the few continued. Despite subsequent changes in society and governance, the foundational structures of landholding established in this era have shown remarkable endurance.

Cahill illustrates how, over the centuries, laws and practices have evolved to protect and perpetuate the land holdings of the aristocracy and elite, often at the expense of broader public ownership and access.

It’s classic inequality applied over a millennium. Cahill’s analysis isn’t the only one to show how extremely unequal Britain is.

In 2023, NGO Oxfam released a report showing that the richest 1% of Britons hold 70% of the country’s wealth — which fits perfectly with Cahill’s conclusions. The Oxfam report shows that the richest 1% have pocketed $26 trillion (£21 trillion) in new wealth since 2020 alone.

Meanwhile, the rest of the 99% of the population acquired almost two times less. In other words, the 1% are getting richer much faster than the rest of the population.

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