ALBAWABA - A report released by the British charity organization "Oxfam" unveils that the fortunes of the world's richest five men have doubled, reaching a staggering $869 billion since 2020, according to the British newspaper "The Guardian."
The organization's report, titled "The Inequality Company," anticipates that the widening wealth gap may lead to the world's first trillionaire in the next decade. The report was published ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The five wealthiest individuals identified in the report—Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg—saw their collective wealth soar by $464 billion, marking a remarkable 114% increase. The article highlights this wealth surge in stark contrast to the struggles of the poorest 60% of the world's population, approximately 5 billion people, who experienced a 0.2% decline in their financial well-being during the same period. The eradication of global poverty remains elusive, with current trends suggesting it could take another 229 years.
The report, based on data from "Wealth X," emphasizes the significant exacerbation of inequality since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Billionaires worldwide witnessed their wealth balloon by $3.3 trillion since 2020, three times faster than the inflation rate. The report notes that workers worldwide endure longer hours for meager wages in precarious and unsafe jobs. The real average wages for about 800 million workers in 52 countries dropped, resulting in a collective loss of $1.5 trillion over the past two years.
Tax on the Wealthy
The charitable organization's report discloses that 70% of the world's largest companies have a billionaire as CEO or major shareholder, despite the recession in the living standards of millions of workers. Oxfam calls for a wealth tax to address this glaring imbalance, suggesting that taxing British millionaires and billionaires could generate £22 billion annually for the state treasury.
Julia Davies, a founding member of the National Millionaires Organization in the UK, supports the call for a wealth tax, emphasizing its potential impact on public services and infrastructure. Oxfam highlights that global income inequality, as measured by the Gini index, now resembles that of South Africa, the most unequal country in the world.
Alma Shifji, Oxfam's interim executive director, calls for coordinated policies prioritizing fair taxation and supporting everyone. She criticizes deliberate political choices contributing to distorted wealth concentration and urges a commitment to building a more just economy that benefits everyone.
