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As business and political elites gather for meetings during the World Economic Forum, Oxfam International warns of an impending ‘decade of division’ as the gap between rich and poor becomes even more pronounced. .
The rich are getting richer and one could become the world’s first billionaire within the next decade, according to anti-poverty group Oxfam International.
The organization released its annual report this week as business and political elites began gathering during the World Economic Forum. Warning of an impending “decade of division,” the report’s most damning findings highlight the widening wealth gap between billionaires and everyone else.
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All three billionaires are among the five richest people whose wealth has soared by 114% since 2020 as the world reels from the coronavirus pandemic, the University of Oxford said, using figures from Forbes magazine. It was revealed that it was in. French businessman Bernard Arnault, who founded luxury goods company LVMH, and Oracle founder Larry Ellison are the other two of the world’s five richest people.
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Oxfam report highlights widening gap between rich and poor
For years, Oxfam has called attention to the widening gap between the world’s ultra-rich and the rest of the world at the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
This gap has existed for decades, but Oxfam claimed it had only become “wider” since the coronavirus pandemic.
While tax laws, monopolies and deregulation ensure cash is funneled into the pockets of wealthy elites, “billions of people are bearing the economic shocks of pandemics, inflation and war,” said Amitabh, Oxfam’s international interim executive director. Behar said in a statement. .
“This inequality is not a coincidence,” Behar said. “The billionaire class allows corporations to provide them with more wealth at the expense of everyone else.”
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Oxfam says the world’s five richest people have more than doubled their wealth since 2020, from $405 billion to $869 billion, but “nearly 5 billion people have become poorer” since the pandemic. The misery of poverty. The group says if nothing changes, one of the world’s billionaires could reach trillionaire status within the next 10 years.
Oxfam’s analysis of Forbes magazine data found that Musk is the richest in the United States, home to more billionaires than any other country on earth, with a fortune of about $2.26 billion. . The three richest Americans, Musk, Bezos and Ellison, have collectively increased their wealth by 84% since 2020, the report concludes.
Meanwhile, people around the world continue to work longer hours, while wages for around 800 million workers have not kept pace with inflation over the past two years, according to Oxfam.
Abby Maxman, president and CEO of Oxfam American, said in a statement: “The United States has the greatest wealth of people on earth, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who have become synonymous with obscene wealth.” It’s home to many billionaires.” “We must stop normalizing extreme inequality and take deliberate action to prevent the super-rich and the companies they control from tightening their grip on politics and the economy.”
Anti-poverty report calls for tax reform and other measures
Oxfam is calling on governments to usher in a “new era of public action” by taking steps to reduce or slow the growing wealth gap.
According to Oxfam, these policies include investing in public services such as education and health care, taxing countries’ wealthy people and large corporations, and breaking up monopolies to make companies more competitive.
“Every company has a responsibility to act, but very few are doing so. Governments must do more,” Behar said.
Eric Lagatta covers the latest and trending news for USA TODAY. Please contact elagatta@gannett.com.
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