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The combined wealth of the world’s five richest people has more than doubled to $869 billion since 2020, while 5 billion people have fallen into poverty, anti-poverty group Oxfam said.
As business elites gather for the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos from January 15th to 19th, Oxfam’s report, titled ‘Inequality Inc.’ It has been revealed that he is either a manager or a major shareholder of Seven Out. Among the world’s 10 largest companies. Since 2020, the billionaire has increased his We are now $300 billion richer.
The group also includes Tesla CEO Elon Musk, luxury company LVMH’s Bernard Arnault and his family, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and investment guru Warren.・The wealth of Buffett’s five richest people increased by 114% in 2019. This is the first time in real terms since 2020, when the world was reeling from the pandemic.
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“This level of despicable inequality cannot continue,” said Amitabh Behar, interim executive director of Oxfam International. He added that this shows “capitalism is in the service of the super-rich.” Oxfam’s annual report on global inequality is traditionally released just before the start of Davos at the Swiss Alpine resort of the same name.
“Inequality is not a coincidence”
On 15 January, Oxfam called on governments to rein in corporate power by breaking up monopolies, introducing taxes on excess profits and wealth, and promoting alternatives to shareholder control, such as employee ownership. . According to the report, 148 top companies earned $1.8 trillion in profits, an average increase of 52% over three years, and millions of workers are struggling to make ends meet as inflation drives down real wages. Despite the crisis, the company is able to pay out large dividends to shareholders. .
“This inequality is no accident. The billionaire class allows corporations to provide them with more wealth at the expense of everyone else,” Behar said. The report proves this by highlighting that it will take 230 years to eliminate poverty, yet the world could have its first trillionaire within 10 years.
If someone reaches that $1 trillion milestone, he or she may not currently be on any rich list, but he or she will be worth as much as oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Dew. John D. Rockefeller, of Standard Oil fame, is widely considered to have become the world’s first billionaire in 1916. Musk is currently the richest person on the planet, with a personal fortune of just under $250 billion, according to Oxfam.
Oxfam further notes that “Across the world, members of the private sector are persistent in lowering interest rates, increasing loopholes, reducing transparency and other measures aimed at ensuring that companies contribute as little as possible to public coffers.” “I have requested it,” he added.
The charity believes that, thanks to intensive lobbying around tax policy decisions, companies are able to lower corporate taxes, thereby taking money away from government to financially support the poorest in society. said that it was completed. According to Oxfam, corporate taxes in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries have fallen significantly from 48% in 1980 to 23.1% in 2022.
“Stakeholder capitalism”
Davos began as a defense of “stakeholder capitalism.” According to the WEF, a business is defined as one that not only maximizes profits but also realizes “human and social aspirations as part of a broader social system.” Oxfam said the report, based on a wide range of data sources from the International Labor Organization and the World Bank to Forbes magazine’s annual Rich List, shows such aspirations are far from being realized.
“What we know for sure is that today’s extreme shareholder capitalist system, which prioritizes increased returns to wealthy shareholders above all other goals, fosters inequality.” said Max Lawson, Head of Inequality Policy.
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Meanwhile, nearly 800 million workers have seen their wages fail to keep up with inflation over the past two years, resulting in an average loss of 25 days’ worth of annual income per worker, according to Oxfam analysis. Only 0.4% of the world’s 1,600 largest companies publicly commit to paying workers a living wage and supporting living wages in their value chains, the study found.
Despite having just 21% of the world’s population, the rich countries of the Global North own 69% of the world’s wealth and are home to 74% of the world’s billionaires, according to Oxfam. ing. Additionally, Oxfam said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 caused energy and food prices to soar, disproportionately hitting the poorest countries.
“We are witnessing the beginning of a decade of division. Billions of people are bearing the economic shocks of a pandemic, inflation and war while billionaires’ fortunes soar.” Behar said.
(With inputs from Reuters, AFP, AP, PTI)
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