Occupy Wall Street, abbreviated OWS, is a protest movement on Wall Street in New York City. Sparked by the Canadian group Adbusters, Occupy Wall Street has become the first remarkable protest within the Occupy movement, which in turn is part of the global protest movements started in Tunisia in late 2010. The movement is currently active in 100 American cities and 1,500 cities throughout the world.
The primary motivator of the protests is the opposition to social and economic inequality, high levels of unemployment, corporate greed, political corruption, and the influence of corporate money on the American political process. The movement's slogan is "We are the 99%," in reference to income inequality in the United States and opposition towards the vast sums of wealth owned by 1% of the population.
Occupy Wall Street is a leaderless movement that considers itself a "de facto" movement, as it is not officially organized by any group or individuals. Limited organization is done through "a non-binding consensus based collective decision tool known as a "people's assembly.""