A report by the NGO Oxfam suggests that the gap between rich and poor is greater than ever.
The 8 richest men in the world. From left to right: Jeff Bezos, Amancio Ortega, Warren Buffett, Carlos Slim, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Michael Bloomberg.
Only eight people, all men, have the same wealth as half the world ‘s population, level of inequality that “threatens to marginalize our societies , ” said Oxfam on Monday before the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The wealth of 3,600 billion people is equivalent to the kneading, in total, six American businessmen, one Spanish and one Mexican.
Oxfam highlighted the huge gap between rich and poor and growing discontent with the political class around the world.
“From the Brexit to the success of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, a worrying rise in racism and widespread disillusionment with conventional politicians, there are growing signs that more and more people in rich countries are not willing to tolerate the status quo” , Says Oxfam in its new report, “An economy for 99%”.
The Oenegé says that new data on the distribution of wealth in countries like India and China forced him to revise his calculations, because last year they said that half the wealth of the world’s population was in the hands of 62 people.
According to the organization, the pace at which the wealthiest accumulate more and more wealth could give rise to the world’s first “billionaire” in just 25 years.
With that concentration of wealth, this person would need to waste a million dollars a day for 2,738 years to spend all his fortune, Oxfam says.
Faced with this, seven out of ten people live in a country where inequality has increased in the last 30 years, he says.
Between 1988 and 2011, the income of the poorest 10% of the world’s population increased on average only $ 3 a year, while those of the richest 1% grew 182 times more, at a rate of $ 11,800 a year.
Women suffer higher levels of discrimination in the workplace and take up most of the unpaid care work.
According to Oxfam, at the current pace, it will take 170 years to achieve equal pay between men and women.
Inequality will be one of the topics to be addressed by political leaders and business leaders at the annual summit in Davos, which will be held from Tuesday to Wednesday, with the participation of 3,000 people.
“Responsive and responsible leadership” is the theme of the summit, whose organizers said it is a response to the “reaction against globalization that has led to two surprising electoral results and an increase in populism in the West.”
In its report, Oxfam calls for an increase in tax rates against “rich individuals and corporations” as well as a global agreement for countries to stop competing to enact low taxes for corporations.
The organization also criticizes the pressure of companies and the proximity between businessmen and politicians, demanding that the lobbyists publicly register publicly and stronger rules regarding conflicts of interest.
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