Billionaires thrive, poor strive during pandemic

Billionaires thrive, poor strive during pandemic

Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Gulf Today Report

The collective wealth of the world's billionaires rose $3.9 trillion between March and December 2020 to reach $11.95 trillion, according to "The Inequality Virus" report, published as global leaders tune in for the World Economic Forum's (WEF) virtual "Davos Dialogue" meeting.

The 10 richest men - a list led by Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Tesla founder Elon Musk which also includes LVMH luxury group's CEO Bernard Arnault, Microsoft's Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg - saw their net worth increase by $540 billion in the same period, Oxfam said.

 

That sum would be enough to prevent anyone from falling into poverty as a result of the pandemic and pay for a vaccine for everyone on earth, researchers calculated.

 

The pandemic marks a "pivotal" point which has exposed economic disparities and built support for "transformative" policies, Oxfam said, calling for higher taxes on wealth and corporations alongside stronger protections for workers.

 

A temporary tax on excess profits made by the 32 global corporations that have profited the most during the pandemic could have raised $104 billion in 2020, Oxfam said.

 

International co-operation would be key to implementing many changes, said Jayati Ghosh, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts