DAVOS, Switzerland — The wealth of billionaires grew three times faster In 2024, a top anti-poverty group announced on Monday that some of the world’s political and financial elites had prepared for an annual meeting. in Davos, Switzerland.
Oxfam International, in its latest assessment of global inequality at the start of the World Economic Forum meeting, predicts that at least five trillion will be created in the next decade. A year ago, the team announced this only one billion it would appear at that time.
OxFam’s investigation adds weight to what President Joe Biden said last week about the “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of the ultra-wealthy few.” The group’s hard-edged report, “Takers Not Makers,” says the number of people living in poverty has barely increased since 1990.
The World Economic Forum expects to welcome around 3,000 participants, including business executives, academics, government officials and civic group leaders, to its annual meeting in the Alpine town of Davos.
President-elect Donald Trumpwho visited Davos twice in his first term and was due to be sworn in on Monday, is expected to attend the forum’s event via video on Thursday. He has long advocated the accumulation of wealth—including his own—and is a multimillionaire Elon Musk as senior advisor.
“What you’re seeing right now is a billionaire president being sworn in today, backed by the richest man. So this is the crown jewel of the global oligarchies,” Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International, said in an interview, referring to Trump and Musk.
“It’s not about a specific person. It is an economic system that we have created, where the millionaires are now more or less able to shape economic policies, social policies, which in the end gives them more and more profits”, he added.
Similar to Biden’s call for billionaires to “start paying their fair share” through the US tax code, Oxfam – the global advocacy group – has called on governments. tax the rich to reduce inequality and extreme wealth, and to “dismantle the new aristocracy”.
The group called for measures such as breaking up monopolies, capping CEO pay and deregulation of corporations to ensure workers are paid a “living wage”.
A lot investors made solid gains in 2024S with the strong performance of high-tech companies and stock market indices&P 500, as well as the price of gold and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Oxfam said the wealth of billionaires grew by $2 trillion last year, or roughly $5.7 billion a day, three times faster than in 2023. The number of billionaires increased by 204, to 2,769, and the 10 richest men increased their wealth by almost 100 million dollars a day. on average, he said.
Citing World Bank data, the group said poverty persists, saying the number of people living on less than $6.85 a day has “barely changed” since 1990. the ultra-rich.
In contrast, at least four new billionaires were “discovered” every week in 2024, and three-fifths of billionaire wealth comes from inheritance, monopoly power or “connections”.
On average, Oxfam said, low- and middle-income countries spend nearly half of their national budgets on debt service. He also stated that life expectancy in Africa is less than 64 years, compared to more than 79 years in Europe.
Despite the widening gap between rich and poor, the annual Davos gathering, which formally begins on Tuesday, is likely to focus again this year on money-making and deal-making as powerful leaders rise in some Western countries. progressive causes like diversity and climate change downturn in the business world.
the continued rise of artificial intelligence as a tool for business to achieve greater efficiencies, will once again be the main topic at Davos, despite concerns in many sectors. AI can revolutionize many white-collar jobs and displaced workers in various industries.
Trump’s return for a second term is likely to be on many lips at Davos, as are lingering conflicts Ukrainian wars and Sudan, along with the hope of following a The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel started on SundayEnding the devastating 15-month war in Gaza.
The forum’s organizers published a survey of 900 experts last week for the “Global Risks Report”, which found that conflicts between countries were the main concern, followed by extreme weather, economic confrontation, disinformation and misinformation and “societal polarization” – a nod. the difference between the rich and the poor.
As in previous years, they took to the streets demanding more economic equality, taxing the rich and other demands. Some blocked roads to Davos, snarling traffic in some places and delaying travel for some participants until Friday.
