Billionaire wealth has risen to staggering levels amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a new billionaire being created every 30 hours over the past two years, according to a new report by Oxfam.
On Sunday, anti-poverty organization Oxfam released a report that found that from March 2020 to March 2022, around 573 people became new billionaires.
Meanwhile, Oxfam alone expects more than 260 million people worldwide to be pushed into extreme poverty – or living on less than $1.90 a day, with 1 million people falling into extreme poverty every 33 hours. are.
According to the group, the COVID-19 pandemic is “set to drive the largest ever systemic increase in income inequality”.
currently, 10 richest men in the world Humanity owns more wealth than the bottom 40% or 3.1 billion people.
In the US, the economic crisis related to COVID-19 left millions Waste and struggling financially. a million people have died A staggering loss, from the coronavirus in the US alone, in the past two years. Blacks and Latinx people were almost twice as likely to die virus than white people.
“It is no coincidence that we are seeing staggering levels of inequality in the US and globally. This is intentional by design,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, in a release.
“For decades, the super-wealthy and corporations have used their economic might to write rules on those in power so that they can avoid taxes, pay poverty wages, and avoid responsibility,” Maxman said. “Meanwhile, working families are feeling the sharp edge of economic insecurity and a lack of hope for the future.”
During the pandemic, more than 2,000 billionaires in the world increased their collective worth by $3.78 trillion, or 42%, in two years.
Currently, the world’s billionaires have assets equal to 13.9% of global GDP – up from 4.4% of world GDP in 2000.
During this, Half of US women of color make less than $15 an hour on his work. And the steady rise in food and gas prices is affecting the poorest households the most.
The report had one major recommendation: taxes on the rich. Oxfam suggested “A one-time solidarity tax on the increased wealth of billionaires during the pandemic, as well as a permanent, progressive wealth tax of 2% on wealth above $5 million and 5% for wealth above $1 billion.
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