The fortunes of the 5 richest men have increased by 114% since 2020, while Oxfam expects that the world will witness the birth of the world’s first ever trillionaire within just one decade, while it will take more than two centuries to end poverty.
In the Middle East and North Africa region, the total wealth of billionaires has nearly doubled from $24 billion in 2020 to $40.1 billion in 2023, and in 7 of the 10 largest companies in the world there is a billionaire official or CEO now.
148 major companies achieved profits worth $1.8 trillion, an increase of 52% over the 3-year average, and made huge payments to wealthy shareholders, while hundreds of millions faced wage cuts that no longer kept pace with inflation levels.
Oxfam – an international federation that includes 15 independent organizations working in the field of combating poverty and social disparities across the world – urged a new method of public work, including public services, regulating companies, breaking monopolies, and imposing permanent taxes on wealth and excess profits.
A report issued by the organization, published to coincide with the meeting of the world’s elites at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which begins today, Monday, said that the wealth of these wealthy people rose from $405 billion in 2020 to $869 billion last year.
However, Oxfam said that since 2020, about 5 billion people around the world have become poorer.
In general, billionaires are now $3.3 billion richer than they were in 2020, despite the many crises that have affected the world economy since the beginning of this decade, including the Corona virus.
Exacerbating inequality
Oxfam usually issues its annual report on inequality around the world before the opening of the forum, whose meetings begin today in the Alpine resort of Davos in Switzerland.
The organization expressed concerns about increasing inequality in the world, as the richest individuals and companies amass greater wealth as a result of rising stock prices, and they also gain significantly more power.
“Corporate power is used to increase inequality, through squeezing workers, enriching wealthy shareholders, evading taxes and privatizing the state,” Oxfam said.
The organization also accused companies of exacerbating “inequality by waging a sustained and highly influential war on taxes” with far-reaching consequences.
Oxfam said states handed power to monopolists, allowing companies to influence the wages paid to people and the prices of food and medicines people use.
She added, “All over the world, private sector individuals have pushed to reduce costs, create more loopholes, reduce transparency, and put in place other measures aimed at enabling companies to contribute as little as possible to the public treasury.”
The organization said that companies were able, through intense pressure on tax policy makers, to reduce the value of the taxes they pay, which deprives governments of funds that could be used to provide financial support to the poorest groups in society.
Oxfam indicated that corporate taxes have decreased significantly in OECD countries, from 48% in 1980 to 23.1% in 2022.
To address this imbalance, Oxfam called for imposing a tax on the wealth of millionaires and billionaires in the world, noting that this could generate $1.8 trillion annually. It also called for setting a maximum wage for executives and dismantling private monopolies.
