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January 17, 2017

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8 men now ‘richer than half the world’

THE gap between the super-rich and the poorest half of the world’s population is starker than previously thought, with just eight men, from Bill Gates to Michael Bloomberg, owning as much wealth as 3.6 billion people, according to an analysis by Oxfam released yesterday.

Presenting its findings ahead of the annual gathering of the global political and business elites at the Swiss ski resort of Davos, anti-poverty organization Oxfam says the gap between the very rich and poor is far greater than just a year ago. It’s urging leaders to do more than pay lip-service to the problem.

If not, it warns, public anger against this inequality will continue to grow and lead to more seismic political changes akin to last year’s election of Donald Trump and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

“It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few when one in 10 people survive on less than US$2 a day,” said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International, who will be attending the Davos meeting. “Inequality is trapping hundreds of millions in poverty; it is fracturing our societies and undermining democracy.”

The same report a year earlier said the richest 62 people on the planet owned as much wealth as the bottom half of the population. However, Oxfam has revised that figure down to eight following new information from Swiss bank Credit Suisse.

Oxfam used Forbes’ billionaires list to make its headline claim. According to the list, Microsoft founder Gates is the richest individual with a net worth of US$75 billion. The others, in order of ranking, are Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of fashion house Inditex, financier Warren Buffett, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Bloomberg, former mayor of New York.

Oxfam outlined measures it hopes will be enacted to help reduce the inequality.

They include higher taxes on wealth and income to ensure a more level playing field and to fund investments in public services and jobs. It also says business leaders should commit to paying their fair share of taxes and a living wage to employees.

Max Lawson, Oxfam’s policy adviser, urged billionaires to “do the right thing.”

“We have a situation where billionaires are paying less tax often than their cleaner or their secretary,” Lawson told reporters. “That’s crazy.”

Trust in institutions has fallen sharply since the global financial crisis of 2008, according to Edelman, one of the world’s biggest marketing firms.

In its pre-Davos survey of more than 33,000 people across 28 markets, Edelman found the largest drop yet in trust across government, business, media and even non-governmental organizations. CEO credibility is at an all-time low and government leaders are the least trusted group, according to the survey.

Edelman highlighted how “the emergence of a media echo chamber” that reinforces personal beliefs while shutting out opposing views has magnified this “cycle of distrust.”




 

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