Hi MatTheCat,
Most bitcoins are, in fact, in the hands of a very few people. Are you surprised? Im not.
We also learn that, of the approximately 9 million bitcoins which currently exist, less than 2 million actually circulate that is, change hands with any appreciable frequency:
It is remarkable that 97% of all owners had fewer than 10 transactions each, while 75 owners use the network very often and are affiliated with at least 5,000 transactions.
And it would appear that most of the non-circulating coins are in the hands of a very small number of people who, one may reasonably suspect, were involved from with building and propagandising Bitcoin from its very beginning. So, who are the lords of Bitcoin?