It's time we acknowledged that most of the rich of this country didn't get there through hard work or drive or motivation, but through the good luck of having been born with the right connections and through being at the right place at the right moment.

Perhaps it is time to have taxation truly based on wealth as opposed to the current system with VAT, council tax, road tax, TV tax, etc. which unfairly penalises the poor and favours the rich.

Michael Goodham, bedford,

well at last some nice and clever words it is about time, that someone would say something. however the return of Europe to the world scene and the respect that it merits is on the hands of the real Europe those that founded which are the old nobility, including our friend Charles who we all know has done nothing but his time to play a role has arrive. and hes got full support from nature, the unexpected and myself. this wise nobles must intervene and stop the abuses of the economical power and the disproportioned aftermath of the French revolution, they can at least balance society protect the underdog and put a control on government corruption. a bit late but we can say this how history unfolds itself sometimes.

bremont, paris, france

If you make achieving a reasonable standard of living a near impossibility for enough people , violence and riots are inevitable ... Jealousy has nothing to do with it !!!!! This just highlights the lack of understanding between the haves and the have nots . It does not bode well for the future .

Benzo, Nr Chelmsford,

No doubt you will always have a situation that there will be an economic disparity and inequity in a capitalistic economy. That is the very nature of capitalism. However, what I find rather amusing is that the government, the very creators of the current tax regime, are now looking to pin the blame on those individuals who played by the rules of the regime and succeeded in manner which resulted in making those individuals uber-wealthy. Hopefully, behind the smoke and mirrors of the committee, people will see this as another ploy by Labour to shift the blame. As for the trade unions, perhaps if they convinced their members that they need to be more productive and competitive in today's world as opposed to ask for money for sitting on their back-ends, then maybe they might have some valid voice. People are fed up with the blame society, so much so that people are leaving to find countries where individuals are rewarded on merit as oppose to being knocked down for their achievements.

Gernblan, Winnipeg/London, Canada/UK

"Instead of casitigating those with the drive & motivation to make themselves rich,"

Maybe by sharing the wealth rather than having rich private equity companies grab it all, people who have been brought up in massive council houses where everything is dire would be able to see what life is out there.

Their parents have worked in factories or been on the dole for generations. Their young minds can't see a way out when EVERYTHING around them is in neglect. Society fails them with parents that hang around not supporting them because everyone's out to make their individual life richer, without pausing to think about the community as a whole.

I am lucky; I had parents that brought me up well. I am at Uni. But for those who don't have any realistic opportunities to get out (maybe 1 in 100 make it out to be big) what hope is there.

Bring on the riots.. Show the ignorant richies that we are people with feelings and lives, not just machines that are dispensible and not worth a fair chance

John, Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Who would have thought that after 10 years of Labour rule the rich would be getting richer and the poor getting poorer? The working class, particularly two parent families, have been abandoned by this Government. A redistribution of wealth is long overdue, after all is not the lowest paid manual worker contributing more to our society than prima donna footballers earning obscene fortunes. At present it appears that the working class taxes are subsidising the mega-rich, a situation that surely cannot continue?

R.B., Leicester,

All businesses change over time, for a variety of reasons.
Classic example is the buggy whip manufacturers which at one time must have been a roaring industry until the invention of the internal combustion engine.

Private Equity firms provide a catalyst to bring about a focused and efficient mechcanism to bring about this change. There are other options eg government subsidies, socialism but each with its own hefty price in terms of inefficiency and complexity.

Chris, Bath,

A £260m fortune is worthless unless it is used to buy goods and services providing employment opportunities for the less wealthy!

The British economy is not a static large cake and if certain people take a large slice, others go without. It does not work like that.

Parallels to the Parisian riots are also misplaced as they were primarily driven by racial circumstances. When was the last time unemployed people rioted in the UK as their welfare payments were too small!?!

Paul, Manchester, England

The thing about greed is that it all ends in tears. Wealth obtained through manipulation rather than skill and honest hard work eventually returns to haunt the manipulators. I don't envy their silly lifestyle, which instead of creating jobs for less fortunate people, makes it more expensive, unpleasant and stressful for them. Why is the government sleeping?

kt, london,

We need action now from ordinary people who are undoubtedly going to end up in severe poverty if the greed at the top continues. There doesn't seem to be such a thing as conscience any more and morality is just a dirty word and politicians don't understand why people are angry with them? They really are very, very much out of touch with the electorate and the anger ordinary people feel about this. Personal fortunes of billions are being built up through underpaying taxes and our own kids are starting their lives in thousands of pounds worth of debt which, in some cases, they may never pay off. It is just not right but there seems to be a problem with understanding with our politicians. They spend most of their time lining their own back pockets and that takes time, the time that they should be spending ensuring a future for our children and a more equal society. This Government has, without a shadow of a doubt, been the worst we have ever seen.

judy, Liverpool, england

Instead of casitigating those with the drive & motivation to make themselves rich, why not speak to the Chancellor about perceived inequities in our tax regime?

Simon, Sevenoaks,

the fact that private equity has created jobs does not make the warnings untrue, the percieved gap between rich and less well off are what will cause the unrest, , especially as salary in monetary terms is only valued acording to what it can purchase, with housing market becoming more dominant, and the official rate of inflation being discredited, tensions will rise. add to this ill judged comments about the very rich paying less tax than those they employ and there should be little surprise when resentment occurs.

perhaps private equity should take a lead from Bill Gates, who is less reviled now , possibly due to some high profile charity interests? They could certainly do with some geniune acts to give them good PR

Ben, folkestone, UK