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The world’s billionaires have increased their wealth by trillions of dollars since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, while poorer countries are struggling with rising commodity prices and rising debt. These are the findings of a study recently published by the charity Oxfam.
As the global business elite gathers in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos for the World Economic Forum, Oxfam says they have reason to celebrate. A study by this charitable organization shows that the wealth of 2668 billionaires in the world has increased by 3.78 trillion dollars since 2020.
“This is mainly due to the trillions of dollars that rich countries poured into the economy in response to COVID-19, raising stock prices on stock exchanges. “We are now seeing a huge increase in the wealth of billionaires, as a result of their gains in the food and energy sectors, driven by rising prices,” said Max Lawson, head of inequality policy at Oxfam.
According to Oxfam, 573 billionaires have been created since 2020. The ten richest people in the world now own more wealth than the poorest 40 percent of humanity, or 3.1 billion people.
As the wealth of billionaires has grown, in the last two years there has been a deterioration in the plight of the poor, jeopardizing the progress made in recent decades in the fight against poverty.
“We are facing a crisis of inequality, a crisis of hunger caused by climate change around the world. “Rising food prices and problems with the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated the situation,” said Max Lawson, head of inequality policy at Oxfam.
The World Food Program, a UN organization, warns that 49 million people are at immediate risk of starvation in 43 countries.
“Now we need an extra $ 68 billion,” he said. What we are looking for is equal to increasing their wealth in a day or two. “I think this is a reasonable request for the rich to help fight hunger, destabilization and mass migration in the world.”
The World Food Program says Ukraine typically supplies the world with enough grain to feed 400 million people, but its ports are blocked by Russia.
“If these ports are not repaired, we will have a problem with the increase of food prices in the next 10 to 12 months. “But next year, the problem will be the lack of food items, which would aggravate the situation,” said the executive director of the World Food Program.
Oxfam says governments have the power to tackle growing inequality.
“This is our money. They have increased the wealth of these companies. “We have to respond by imposing a one-time solidarity tax and other taxes on the rich to restore economic balance in the world,” said Max Lawson of the charity Oxfam.
Some European countries have imposed taxes on the sudden increase in profit to energy firms. Others argue that such taxes would hamper investment at a critical time as Western countries try to forgo Russian energy imports.
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