Oppose ultra-rich’s sway over tax laws, gov’ts asked
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London-based organization Oxfam called on governments to oppose the ultra-rich’s sway over tax laws as the combined wealth of the world’s five wealthiest men has more than doubled to $869 billion since 2020.
According to Oxfam’s report “Inequality Inc.” released Monday, the world’s wealthiest men have grown their fortunes to $14 million per hour during the past four years, and billionaires are $3.3 trillion richer now than in 2020.
Business elites in Davos
The report, which comes as business elites gather this week for the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, added that seven out of 10 of the largest corporations in the world are either led by or have a billionaire as their primary shareholder.
Oxfam added that 5 billion people have become poorer over the same period, despite the rise in the wealth of LVMH Moët Hennessy — Louis Vuitton chief executive officer Bernard Arnault, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, investor Warren Buffet, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
According to the anti-poverty group, if current trends continue, the world will see its first trillionaire within ten years, but poverty won’t be completely abolished for another 229 years.
A decade of division
“We’re witnessing the beginnings of a decade of division, with billions of people shouldering the economic shockwaves of the pandemic, inflation, and war while billionaires’ fortunes boom. This inequality is no accident; the billionaire class is ensuring corporations deliver more wealth to them at the expense of everyone else,” Oxfam International interim executive director Amitabh Behar said in a statement released with the report.
