Last year, someone became a billionaire every two days — with the amount of wealth generated by billionaires increasing by $762 billion in 2017 alone. But for the poorest half of humanity, proportional wealth increases were not so attainable.  

In fact, according to a report from Oxfam, delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos Monday, the poorest half of humanity gained no wealth in 2017. 

The Oxfam report, “Reward Work, Not Wealth,” describes in excruciating detail the persistent, and growing, global wealth gap.  

Take Action: Educating Girls Strengthens the Global Fight Against Climate Change

Global Citizen campaigns on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, including goal No. 10, reduced inequalities within and among countries. You can join us and take action here

Embed from Getty Images

“The billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system,” Oxfam executive director Winnie Byanyima said in a statement. “The people who make our clothes, assemble our phones, and grow our food are being exploited to ensure a steady supply of cheap goods, and swell the profits of corporations and billionaire investors.”

According to the report, last year saw the biggest-ever increase in the world’s billionaires, 90% of whom are men. In developing countries like Nigeria, poverty levels have actually grown, despite drastic increases in economic growth.

“In Nigeria, the richest man earns enough interest on his wealth in one year to lift 2 million people out of extreme poverty,” the report states. 

Embed from Getty Images

Overall, a grand total of 42 billionaires owned the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the population, according to the report. 

Read More: The World’s Poorest Women Also Lack Reproductive Care, and It Could Be Driving Global Inequality

The Oxfam report noted that some factors driving rising inequality include tax dodging by the richest corporations; lower pay rates and worse conditions for workers; and gender inequality. 

“People are ready for change,” Byanyima said. “They want to see workers paid a living wage; they want corporations and the super-rich to pay more tax; they want women workers to enjoy the same rights as men; they want a limit on the power and the wealth which sits in the hands of so few. They want action.” 

You can read the full Oxfam report here

News

Demand Equity

Top 1% of World's Earners Own 82% of Wealth Generated in 2017: Report

By Phineas Rueckert