10 Countries Where People Say The Rich Deserve Their Money: Survey

Americans don't hate rich people as much as you may think.

In fact, the majority of Americans say that most of the country's wealthy class deserves to be rich, according to a recent survey conducted by GlobeScan. The research firm polled more than 12,000 people in 23 countries for their thoughts on the matter.

It gets better. The United States was one of only six countries where most people generally approved of the way the rich acquired their money. However, when accounting for all people surveyed across 17 countries this year and in 2008, the story changes. Only 43 percent of that more global group said that most of the world's wealthy deserve their money, the study found.

The share of Americans approving of the rich's means to their end hasn't shifted much in recent years, despite the wealth gap continuing to widen. Actually, such sentiments have remained steady for some time. More than six out of every 10 Americans said in a May Gallup poll that the United States benefits from having the rich among them, a view that has remained unchanged for at least two decades, according to Gallup.

Here are the 10 countries where people say the rich deserve their money: