80% of global wealth going to richest people

22 Jan 18

More than 80% of new global wealth is going to the richest 1% of the population while the poorest get nothing, resulting in a “system that is failing”, Oxfam has said.

In a new study published Monday, the charity claimed the increase in global wealth between July 2016 and June 2017 was $9.2trn, of which $7.6trn (82%) went to the top 1%, while the rest went to the top 20% richest in the world.

Mark Goldring, Oxfam chief executive, said: “Something is very wrong with a global economy that allows the one percent to enjoy the lion’s share of increases in wealth while the poorest half of humanity miss out.

“The concentration of extreme wealth at the top is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a system that is failing the millions of hard-working people on poverty wages who make our clothes and grow our food.”

The charity published its annual report on global inequality ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week.

Oxfam called on world leaders to ensure that wealthy individuals and businesses pay their fair share of tax and tackle tax avoidance.

Goldring said: “Leaders should ensure that wealthy individuals and businesses pay their fair share of tax by cracking down on tax avoidance, and invest this into essential services like schools and hospitals, and creating jobs for young people.”

The report also warned that at the current rates of change, closing the gender pay gap and employment would take 217 years.

Tax avoidance by rich individuals and corporations is estimated to cost developing countries and poor regions $170bn every year, Oxfam said. 

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