The richest 80 people on Earth are now as wealthy as the world's 3.5 billion poorest people. In other words, 80 people control as much wealth as half the population of the planet. That's one of the most shocking findings from a report released by Oxfam, an international charity dedicated to finding solutions to global poverty.

Take, for example, Larry Ellison, the third-ranking deep pocket on this year's Forbes list. Ellison just stepped down as the CEO of the Oracle business software colossus. His net worth: $50 billion. What does Ellison do with all those billions? He collects homes and estates, for starters, with 15 or so scattered all around the world. Ellison likes yachts, too. He currently has two extremely big ones, each over half as long as a football field. Ellison also likes to play basketball, even on his yachts. If a ball bounces over the railing, no problem. Ellison has a powerboat following his yacht, the Wall Street Journal noted this past spring, "to retrieve balls that go overboard."

It is hard to imagine having that much money, but in reality we are no different than Ellison and other multibillionaires. We may not have a billion dollars, but this is true of every human being: how we spend the money we do have will always reveal what we value and even what we love. We show what we treasure with our wallets.