DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The wealth of billionaires grew three times faster in 2024 than the previous year, a leading anti-poverty group reported Monday, as some of the world’s political and financial elites prepared for an annual meeting. in Davos, Switzerland.
In its most recent analysis of global inequality, which coincided with the opening of the World Economic Forum, Oxfam International also predicted that at least five more billionaires will emerge in the next decade. A year ago, the group predicted that only one billionaire would emerge during that time.
Oxfam’s investigation adds weight to a warning last week from outgoing US President Joe Biden about a “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of too few ultra-rich people.” The group’s incisive report, titled “Takers, Not Makers,” also indicates that the number of people in poverty has barely changed since 1990.
The World Economic Forum expects to host about 3,000 attendees, including business executives, academics, government officials and civic group leaders at its annual meeting in the Alpine town of Davos.
What is the concern? The “new aristocracy”
President-elect Donald Trump, who visited Davos twice during his first term and was scheduled to be sworn into office on Monday, is expected to participate in the forum via videoconference on Thursday. The president has long defended the accumulation of wealth — including his own — and counts billionaire Elon Musk as one of his main advisors.
“What you’re seeing right now is a billionaire president being sworn in today, backed by the richest man. So this is practically the crown jewel of global oligarchies,” Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International, said in an interview, referring to Trump and Musk.
“It is not about a specific individual. “It is the economic system that we have created where billionaires can now shape economic and social policies, which eventually gives them more and more profits,” he added.
Similar to Biden’s call for billionaires to “start paying their fair share” through the US tax code, Oxfam, a global advocacy group, called on governments to tax the richest to reduce inequality. and extreme wealth, and to “dismantle the new aristocracy.”
The group called for measures such as breaking up monopolies, capping CEO pay, and regulating corporations to ensure they pay “living wages” to workers.
How are the poorest?
Many investors racked up strong gains in 2024, with strong performances from major technology companies and stock market indices like the S&P 500, as well as the price of gold and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Oxfam said the wealth of billionaires grew by $2 trillion last year, or about $5.7 billion a day, three times faster than in 2023. The number of billionaires rose by 204 to 2,769, and the top 10 men The rich saw their wealth increase by almost $100 million a day on average, he noted.
Citing World Bank data, the group pointed to persistent poverty, saying the number of people living on less than $6.85 a day “has barely changed” since 1990. Oxfam used the “Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List” ” at the end of November for data on the ultra-rich.
In contrast, at least four new billionaires will be “made” every week in 2024, and three-fifths of billionaires’ wealth comes from inheritances, monopoly power or “crony connections,” he said.
On average, low- and middle-income countries spend almost half of their national budgets on debt repayment, Oxfam said. He also noted that life expectancy in Africa is just 64 years, compared to more than 79 years in Europe.
Will this year’s Davos go as usual?
Despite the growing gap between the super-rich and the poor, the annual Davos meeting, which formally begins on Tuesday, will likely again focus this year on making money and closing deals. The number of authoritarian leaders has grown in some Western countries and progressive causes such as diversity and climate change have lost steam in the business world.
The continued rise of artificial intelligence as a tool for businesses to achieve greater efficiencies will also again be a focus at Davos, despite concerns in many quarters that AI could disrupt many skilled jobs and displace workers across a range of sectors. of industries.
Trump’s return for a second term will likely be in many talks at Davos, as will lingering conflicts such as the wars in Ukraine and Sudan, along with hopes that the ceasefire that began Sunday between Hamas and Israel will hold. paused its devastating 15-month war in Gaza.
Forum organizers last week issued a survey of 900 experts for the “Global Risks Report,” which found that conflicts between countries were the top concern, followed by extreme weather, economic confrontation, misinformation and polarization. social, a recognition of the gap between rich and poor.
As in previous years, protesters calling for more economic equality, taxing the rich and pressing other demands took to the streets. Some blocked roads to Davos, complicating traffic in some places and delaying the travel of some attendees to the event, which lasts until Friday.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
This article was published by JAMEY KEATEN on 2025-01-20 00:23:00
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