Oxfam: 85
richest people as wealthy as poorest half of the world
As World Economic
Forum starts in Davos, development charity claims that growing inequality has
been driven by a 'power grab' by wealthy elites
The world's wealthiest people
aren't known for travelling by bus, but if they fancied a change of scene then
the richest 85 people on the globe – who between them control as much wealth as
the poorest half of the global population put together – could squeeze onto a
single double-decker.
The extent to which so much
global wealth has become corralled by a virtual handful of the so-called
'global elite' is exposed in a new report from Oxfam on Monday. It warned that
those richest 85 people across the globe share a combined wealth of £1tn, as
much as the poorest 3.5 billion of the world's population.
The wealth of the 1% richest
people in the world amounts to $110tn (£60.88tn), or 65 times as much as the
poorest half of the world, added the development charity, which fears this
concentration of economic resources is threatening political stability and driving
up social tensions.
It's a chilling reminder of the
depths of wealth inequality as political leaders and top business people head
to the snowy peaks of Davos
for this week's World Economic Forum. Few, if any, will be arriving on anything
as common as a bus, with private jets and helicoptors pressed into service as
many of the world's most powerful people convene to discuss the state of the global
economy over four hectic days of meetings, seminars and parties in the
exclusive ski resort.
Winnie Byanyima, the Oxfam
executive director who will attend the Davos meetings, said: "It is
staggering that in the 21st Century, half of the world's population – that's
three and a half billion people – own no more than a tiny elite whose numbers
could all fit comfortably on a double-decker bus."
Oxfam also argues that this is no
accident either, saying growing inequality has been driven by a "power
grab" by wealthy elites, who have co-opted the political process to rig
the rules of the economic system in their favour.
In the report, entitled Working
For The Few (summary here), Oxfam warned that
the fight against poverty cannot be won until wealth inequality has been
tackled.
"Widening inequality is
creating a vicious circle where wealth and power are increasingly concentrated
in the hands of a few, leaving the rest of us to fight over crumbs from the top
table," Byanyima said.
Oxfam called on attendees at this week's World Economic Forum
to take a personal pledge to tackle the problem by refraining from dodging
taxes or using their wealth to seek political favours.
As well as being morally dubious,
economic inequality can also exacerbate other social problems such as gender
inequality, Oxfam warned. Davos itself is also struggling in this area, with the number of female delegates actually
dropping from 17% in 2013 to 15% this year.
How richest use their wealth to capture opportunites
Polling for Oxfam's report found
people in countries around the world - including two-thirds of those questioned
in Britain - believe that the rich have too much influence over the direction
their country is heading.
Byanyima explained:
"In developed and developing
countries alike we are increasingly living in a world where the lowest tax
rates, the best health and education and the opportunity to influence are being
given not just to the rich but also to their children.
"Without a concerted effort
to tackle inequality, the cascade of privilege and of disadvantage will
continue down the generations. We will soon live in a world where equality of
opportunity is just a dream. In too many countries economic growth already
amounts to little more than a 'winner takes all' windfall for the richest."
The Oxfam report found that over
the past few decades, the rich have successfully wielded political influence to
skew policies in their favour on issues ranging from financial deregulation,
tax havens, anti-competitive business practices to lower tax rates on high
incomes and cuts in public services for the majority. Since the late 1970s, tax
rates for the richest have fallen in 29 out of 30 countries for which data are
available, said the report.
This "capture of
opportunities" by the rich at the expense of the poor and middle classes
has led to a situation where 70% of the world's population live in countries
where inequality has increased since the 1980s and 1% of families own 46% of
global wealth - almost £70tn.
Opinion polls in Spain, Brazil,
India, South Africa, the US, UK and Netherlands found that a majority in each
country believe that wealthy people exert too much influence. Concern was
strongest in Spain, followed by Brazil and India and least marked in the
Netherlands.
In the UK, some 67% agreed that
"the rich have too much influence over where this country is headed"
- 37% saying that they agreed "strongly" with the statement - against
just 10% who disagreed, 2% of them strongly.
The WEF's own Global Risks report
recently identified widening income disparities as one of the biggest threats
to the world community.
Oxfam is calling on those
gathered at WEF to pledge: to support progressive taxation and not dodge their
own taxes; refrain from using their wealth to seek political favours that
undermine the democratic will of their fellow citizens; make public all
investments in companies and trusts for which they are the ultimate beneficial
owners; challenge governments to use tax revenue to provide universal
healthcare, education and social protection; demand a living wage in all
companies they own or control; and challenge other members of the economic
elite to join them in these pledges.