Benjamin Todd

Income has been adjusted to indicate how much that specific dollar amount will buy in a person's home country.

That is, purchasing power parity.

If the world were completely equal, the line would be horizontal.

As citizens of countries like the US and the UK, we know we're rich by global standards, but we don't usually think of ourselves as the richest people in the world.

We're not the bankers, CEOs or celebrities after all.

But actually, if you earn $60,000 per year after taxes and don't have kids, then globally speaking, you are the 1%.

These numbers are approximate, but it's still the case that if you're reading this, you're very likely in that big spike on the right of the graph, and perhaps even way off the chart, while almost everyone else in the world is in the flat bit at the bottom that you can hardly even see.

There's no reason to be embarrassed by this fact but it does emphasize how important it is to consider how you can use your good fortune to help others.

In a more equal world we could just focus on helping those around us and making our own lives go well.

But it turns out we have an enormous opportunity to help other people with little cost to ourselves and it would be a terrible shame to squander it.

Take action right now.

Many of the staff at 80,000 Hours have been so persuaded by these arguments that we've pledged to give at least 10% of our lifetime income to the world's most effective charities.

We did it through an organisation called Giving What We Can, with whom we are partnered.

Giving What We Can enables you to take a public pledge to give 10% of your income to the charities you believe are the most effective.

You can take the pledge in just a few minutes.

It's likely to be the most significant thing you can do right now to do more good with your life.

It's not legally binding.

You can choose where the money goes, and if you're a student, it only commits you to give 1% until after you graduate.

You'll be joining over 9,000 people who've collectively pledged over $3 billion.

The pledge is not for everyone.