Billionaires are getting richer faster than ever, Oxfam

 Monday, January 20, 2025

Islamabad (Point News Today / Pakistan Point News - DW Urdu - 20 January 2025) A report published by Oxfam, a global development organization, on Monday said that inequality in today's world is increasing rapidly as the "elite class" is accumulating wealth at an unprecedented level.

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The report titled "Takers Not Makers" published ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, states that the wealth of billionaires increased by $2 trillion in 2024.

That is, it increased three times faster than the previous year.

The report says that while the richest one percent of the world's richest people own 45 percent of the world's wealth, 44 percent of humanity in the world lives on less than $6.85 a day.

According to the report, in contrast, the global poverty rate has barely changed since 1990.

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"We present this report as a stark wake-up call that ordinary people around the world are being crushed by the immense wealth of a few," said Amitabh Bihar, executive director of Oxfam.

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The rich are getting richer

Another important point highlighted in the report is the claim that the richest people in the world are still billionaires and that trillionaires are expected to emerge within the next decade, as the wealth of the 10 richest billionaires has increased by an average of $100 million per day in the last 10 years.

Last year, 204 new billionaires emerged globally and the total wealth of billionaires will increase by $2 trillion by 2024.

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Amitabh Bihar warned that an economic system has been created where “billionaires are now able to shape economic policies and social policies to a large extent, which ultimately maximizes their profits.”

The report also states that one in ten women globally lives in extreme poverty, earning less than $2.15 a day.

It further states that women provide 12.5 billion hours of unpaid labor every day, adding $10.8 trillion to the global economy, which is three times the value of the global tech industry.

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The new US President Donald Trump is also mentioned in this Oxfam report. His other policies, including tax cuts and deregulation, are likely to fuel inequality, the report said. He has already been criticized for enriching billionaires like Elon Musk.

"The crown jewel of this elite is a billionaire president himself, who is supported and bought by the world's richest man, Elon Musk, who is running the world's largest economy," Behar said.

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This time in Davos, the forum is expected to focus mostly on economic strategies, artificial intelligence and global conflicts. However, many protesters have already gathered ahead of the summit with banners reading "Tax the rich" and "Burn the system."

Its 3,000 attendees will include world leaders and business executives.