Rabat – The world’s richest 1% grabbed nearly two-thirds of the $42 trillion of wealth generated since 2020, a report on Monday from Oxfam claims.
That 1% group took almost twice the amount of wealth that the bottom 99% did in the same time period, the report added. The information was published on the opening day of the World Economic Forum at Davos.
The charity organization, which aims to lift people out of poverty, added that the findings come at a time when workers around the world are struggling to keep up with inflated prices of necessary goods.
At least 1.7 billion people are living in countries where wages are not keeping up with inflation, with more than 800 million people going hungry.
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“A tax of up to 5 percent on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires could raise $1.7 trillion a year, enough to lift 2 billion people out of poverty,” Oxfam added, specifying that taxing the super-rich and corporations is the way out of the many crises facing the world today.
The report called on governments to introduce new taxes and permanently increase pre-existing ones to help lift people from poverty and provide equitable opportunities.
The wealth gap has become one of the most pressing issues since reports back in 2020 showed billionaires’ wealth skyrocketing while workers continued to suffer from the effects of the COVID-19 crisis.
As the economic situation around the world continues to worsen, workers around the globe have found themselves unable to cope with the rising prices of fuel and food. Meanwhile, several states around the world have introduced or discussed introducing tax cuts on the wealthy since the pandemic began, meaning Oxfam is facing an uphill battle in its quest to introduce more taxes.
