The pandemic and energy crisis have further enriched the top 1 percent
According to a report on income inequality by the UK-based charity Oxfam, the richest 1 percent have had nearly twice the wealth in the past two years than the rest of the world combined.
The report was released on the opening day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. As the world’s leading elites gathered at the Swiss ski resort, extreme wealth and extreme poverty were seen to rise simultaneously for the first time in 25 years.
THEY HAVE TWO THIRDS OF THE WEALTH OF WHAT IS PRODUCED
The report, released today, says the richest 1% own two-thirds of the $42 trillion in new wealth created since 2020.
In the period of the coronavirus epidemic and the energy and cost-of-living crisis that has been in place since 2020, $26 trillion, which is 36 percent of all new wealth produced, went into the hands of the bottom 1 percent. rich, while 37 percent of that, $16 trillion, went to the rest of the world. .
On average over the past decade, the richest 1 percent owned half of the new wealth produced. Thus, the top 1 percent were seen to have more of the new wealth created after the pandemic.
In Turkey, the wealth of the 13 richest billionaires exceeds the total wealth of half the population ($38.5 billion vs. $38.9 billion). The wealth of the richest 1 percent in Turkey is 1.4 times the wealth of the bottom 90 percent.
THE NUMBER OF A BILLION TWICE
A billionaire in the richest 1 percent earned $1.7 million for every $1 earned by a person in the bottom 90 percent. Furthermore, the number and wealth of billionaires has doubled in the last decade.
95 food and energy companies around the world more than doubled their profits in 2022. It was claimed that the companies in question benefited from the crisis and made a profit of 306 billion dollars, while it was highlighted that 257 billion that amount was distributed among the shareholders.
The report states that at least 1.7 billion workers in the world live in countries where inflation is higher than wage growth, while one in ten people in the world face hunger.
DEMAND FOR TAXES ON THE ULTRA RICH
Saying that the super-rich should be taxed, Oxfam International Executive Director Gabriela Bucher said: “Taxing the super-rich and big corporations is the gateway to today’s crises. “It’s time we debunked the myth that tax cuts for the rich benefit everyone.”