Oxfam highlights world inequality ahead of WEF Davos summit.
The eight richest businessmen own as much as half the world’s population, 3.6 billion people, according to the Oxfam Inequality is “more shocking than ever before” the aid group said. In its Report, Oxfam called for an overhaul of what it described as a “warped” economy which allowed eight billionaires to own as much wealth as half of the world’s population, or 3.6 billion people.
The report was published on Monday, a day ahead of the start of the World Economic Forum WEF for the world’s politicians and business leaders in the ski resort of Davos in the Swiss Alps.
But how big the inequality gap is it? Check it by the numbers:
- Just eight men own the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity. None of them has earned his fortune through talent or hard work, but by inheritance or accumulation through industries which are prone to corruption and cronyism.
- Seven out of 10 people live in a country that has seen a rise in inequality in the last 30 years.
- The richest are accumulating wealth at such an astonishing rate that the world could see its first trillionaire in just 25 years. So, you would need to spend $1 million every day for 2738 years to spend $1 trillion.
- Extreme inequality across the globe is having a tremendous impact on women’s lives. Employed women, who face high levels of discrimination in the work place, and take on a disproportionate amount of unpaid care work often find themselves at the bottom of the pile. On current trends, it will take 170 years for women to be paid the same as men.
- Corporate tax dodging costs poor countries at least $100 billion every year. This is enough money to provide an education for the 124 million children who aren’t in school and prevent the deaths of at least six million children thanks to health care services.
Waldemar Mandzel
www.w-t-w.org/en/waldemar-mandzel
www.w-mandzel.de