Oxfam : The wealth of the world’s five wealthiest individuals has more than doubled since 2020, and there is a possibility of witnessing the world’s first trillionaire within the next ten years, while the eradication of poverty could take over two centuries, according to the latest report by Oxfam, released on the opening day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos.
Oxfam highlighted that seven out of ten of the largest global corporations are either led by a billionaire CEO or have a principal shareholder who is a billionaire. The report also revealed that 148 major corporations generated profits totaling $1.8 trillion, a 52% increase compared to the three-year average. Simultaneously, substantial payouts were distributed to affluent shareholders, while a significant portion of the global population faced declines in real-term wages.
Oxfam emphasized the need for a new era of public action, advocating for measures such as enhanced public services, corporate regulation, the dismantling of monopolies, and the implementation of permanent wealth and excess profit taxes.
Oxfam Report, Titled ‘Inequality Inc.’
The Oxfam report, titled ‘Inequality Inc.,’ pointed out that the combined fortunes of the world’s five wealthiest men surged from $405 billion to $869 billion since 2020, equivalent to a growth rate of $14 million per hour. In the midst of this “decade of division,” nearly five billion people experienced increased impoverishment.
If current trends continue, the world may witness the rise of a trillionaire in the next ten years, while the complete eradication of poverty is anticipated to extend for an additional 229 years,” highlighted the report.
Furthermore, Oxfam disclosed that seven out of ten of the largest global corporations, with a billionaire as either CEO or principal shareholder, have a collective worth of $10.2 trillion—surpassing the combined GDPs of all countries in Africa and Latin America.
“We are witnessing the commencement of a decade marked by division, where billions of individuals bear the economic repercussions of pandemics, inflation, and conflicts, while the fortunes of billionaires continue to soar,” remarked Amitabh Behar, the interim executive director of Oxfam International. Behar emphasized that this growing inequality is not coincidental, as the billionaire class ensures that corporations prioritize delivering wealth to them at the expense of the wider population.
Despite constituting only 21% of the global population, affluent countries in the Global North possess 69% of the world’s wealth and account for 74% of global billionaire wealth, according to Oxfam.
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