TROUBLING! Wealth of five richest men doubles as five billion people plunge into poverty – New Report 

A new Oxfam report, “Inequality Inc.,” presented in Davos, highlights a dramatic rise in wealth inequality globally.

The report discloses that the combined fortunes of the world’s five richest men have more than doubled from $405 billion to $869 billion since 2020, while almost five billion people have been pushed further into poverty. The report forecasts the potential emergence of the world’s first trillionaire within a decade, despite a grim projection that poverty will persist for another 229 years if current trends persist.

Published amid the gathering of business elites in Davos, “Inequality Inc.” exposes a troubling reality where seven out of ten of the world’s largest corporations have a billionaire as CEO or principal shareholder. These corporations, valued at $10.2 trillion, surpass the combined GDPs of all African and Latin American countries.

“We’re witnessing the beginnings of a decade of division, with billions of people shouldering the economic shockwaves of 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,” said Oxfam International interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

The report underscores the rise in extreme wealth over the past three years, with billionaires becoming $3.3 trillion richer since 2020, growing three times faster than inflation. Furthermore, rich countries in the Global North, constituting just 21 percent of the global population, own 69 percent of global wealth, hosting 74 percent of the world’s billionaire wealth.

Large corporations are expected to set record profits in 2023, with 148 of the world’s biggest corporations amassing $1.8 trillion in total net profits, a 52 percent increase from the average net profits in 2018-2021. The report indicates that for every $100 of profit made by major corporations, $82 is distributed to wealthy shareholders.

Oxfam’s report reveals that despite representing only 0.4 percent of major corporations, those publicly committed to paying workers a living wage and supporting a living wage in their value chains remain scarce. The report also highlights the decline in the effective corporate tax rate by roughly a third in recent decades and relentless privatization of the public sector.

Oxfam urges governments to address the growing wealth gap by revitalizing the state, reining in corporate power, and reinventing business. This includes ensuring universal provision of healthcare and education, breaking up monopolies, legislating for living wages, capping CEO pay, and implementing new taxes on the super-rich and corporations.

“Every corporation has a responsibility to act, but very few are. Governments must step up. There is action that lawmakers can learn from, from US anti-monopoly government enforcers suing Amazon in a landmark case, to the European Commission wanting Google to break up its online advertising business, and Africa’s historic fight to reshape international tax rules,” said Behar.