The world's 26 wealthiest people own as much wealth as half the world's population. January 21, 2019, Origin: Davos/Switzerland.
A)
According to a report released by international NGO Oxfam on January 21, the world's 26 wealthiest people own as much wealth as the lowest half of the world's population—3.8 billion people—combined. The group urges governments to raise taxes on the wealthy to close the widening wealth gap.
According to a new report released ahead of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the total assets held by wealthy individuals with assets of $1 billion or more worldwide increased by $2.5 billion every day in 2018.
B)
The world's richest man is Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, whose fortune rose to $112 billion last year. Oxfam says just 1% of his total wealth would be enough to cover the entire health budget of Ethiopia, a country of 105 million people.
Meanwhile, the economically disadvantaged half of the world's population, or 3.8 billion people, saw their total wealth fall 11 per cent last year.
C)
Oxfam said widening inequality undermined efforts to tackle poverty, hurt economies, and fuelled anger.
It warned that governments were making economic inequality worse by cutting spending on public services like health and education while giving tax breaks to the wealthy.
D)
The report urges countries to end the "race to the bottom" by taxing the wealthy and big corporations.
It says that if the wealthiest people paid just 0.5 per cent more in taxes, "it would be possible to provide education to 262 million children who currently do not have access to education and provide health care that would save 3.3 million lives, with more than enough money left over."
The world's 26 richest people own as much wealth as half the world's population
January 21, 2019, Origin: Davos/Switzerland
https://www.afpbb.com/articles/-/3207339
