Billionaire numbers doubled in a decade
Print Edition
The number of billionaires has doubled in the past decade and the world鈥檚 22 richest men now have more wealth than all the women in Africa, Oxfam said yesterday in an appeal to the Davos elite to get serious about inequality.
鈥淥ur broken economies are lining the pockets of billionaires and big business at the expense of ordinary men and women. No wonder people are starting to question whether billionaires should even exist,鈥 Oxfam鈥檚 India head Amitabh Behar said.
鈥淲omen and girls are among those who benefit least from today鈥檚 economic system,鈥 Behar said ahead of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, where he will represent Oxfam.
There will be at least 119 billionaires worth about US$500 billion attending Davos this year, with the highest contingents coming from the United States, India and Russia.
鈥淭he very top of the economic pyramid sees trillions of dollars of wealth in the hands of a very small group of people, predominantly men,鈥 the Oxfam report said.
鈥淭heir wealth is already extreme and our broken economy concentrates more and more wealth into these few hands.鈥
Women and girls put in 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work each and every day, estimated to be worth at least US$10.8 trillion a year.
Oxfam鈥檚 annual report on global inequality is traditionally released just before the forum opens at the Swiss Alpine resort. This year鈥檚 forum opens today.
It had some astonishing statistics.
If the world鈥檚 richest 1 percent paid just 0.5 percent extra tax on their wealth for 10 years, it would equal the investment needed to create 117 million new jobs in elderly and child care, education and health.
Oxfam鈥檚 figures are based on data from Forbes magazine and Swiss bank Credit Suisse, but they are disputed by some economists.
The numbers show 2,153 billionaires now have more wealth than the 4.6 billion poorest people on the planet.
Women and girls are burdened in particular because they are most often caregivers that keep 鈥渢he wheels of our economies, businesses and societies moving,鈥 Behar said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
