The world’s 26 richest people now own the same wealth as the poorest half of humanity, with inequality spiralling out of control. International non-profit organization Oxfam released a report that examines the disparity between the world’s richest and poorest people.
According to the report, Billionaire fortunes increased by 12 percent last year – or $2.5 billion a day – while the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity saw their wealth decline by 11 percent. The report also revealed that the number of billionaires has almost doubled since the financial crisis, with a new billionaire created every two days between 2017 and 2018, yet wealthy individuals and corporations are paying lower rates of tax than they have in decades.
The world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos CEO of Amazon, saw his fortune increase to $112 billion last year, Oxfam said, pointing out that just one per cent of his wealth was the equivalent to the entire health budget of Ethiopia, a country of 105 million people.
As the world's elite gather at #WEF19, join us and share this video to send them a message to tax the rich fairly. #FightInequality and #BeatPoverty
Join the movement here→ https://t.co/HF57H0BFAU pic.twitter.com/uuqNtaYYi8
— Oxfam International (@Oxfam) January 21, 2019
(Photo source: Instagram – @faranogara)
