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In just three years, the world has witnessed an “extreme surge in wealth,” according to new data.
In the US alone, billionaires are 46% richer compared to 2020, and the three richest people – Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison – have increased their net worth by 84%, according to Global Inequality. A recent Oxfam report on
However, despite the fact that the United States ranks first as the richest country in the world in terms of gross domestic product, according to the latest report from the US Census Bureau, there are 37.9 million people, accounting for 11.5% of the total population. of Americans live in poverty.
Amitabh Behar, Oxfam’s International Interim Executive Director, said: “A decade of division begins as billionaires’ wealth soars while billions of people bear the economic shocks of the pandemic, inflation and war. I’m witnessing this with my own eyes,” he said.
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Oxfam also found that the world’s five richest people have more than doubled their vast wealth since 2020. If current trends continue, the world will have its first trillionaire within 10 years, but poverty will not be eradicated for another 229 years.
Rebecca Riddell, Oxfam’s head of economic and racial justice policy, added: “We expect extreme wealth to continue to be concentrated at the top.”
But there are signs of progress, said Stephen Hamilton, an assistant professor of economics at George Washington University.
Over the same period, as the labor market tightened, more workers held full-time jobs, “which led to a rapid rise in nominal wages for low-income groups,” Hamilton said.
Additionally, a series of strikes in 2023 culminated in a series of collective bargaining agreements won by union members, including autoworkers, UPS drivers, airline pilots, and TV and film scriptwriters, demanding higher wages.
“The cracks are opening for a more equal world,” Liddell said.
But there’s more that can be done, Hamilton added.
“If we want to reduce inequality, we can do it,” he said, citing policies such as progressive taxation, higher rates on corporate income, dividends and capital gains, inheritance taxes and expanding the earned income tax credit. There are many steps that can be taken to fundamentally reduce income inequality in the United States.”
Shortly after the Oxfam report was published, some of the world’s wealthiest people called on elected representatives in the world’s major economies to introduce tax increases on the wealthiest members of society.
In an open letter to political leaders gathered at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, more than 250 billionaires and billionaires have made a clear call to “tax our extreme wealth.” He said he wanted to convey a message.
The signatories of the letter, titled “Proud to Pay More,” span 17 countries and include Disney heir Abigail Disney, screenwriter Simon Pegg and heirs of prestigious American families. Including Valerie Rockefeller.
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