Extreme wealth gap widens globally as top 1% gains $42tn — Report

The world’s richest 1 per cent have amassed $42 trillion in new wealth over the past decade.

This is nearly 34 times more than the entire bottom 50 per cent of the world’s population, according to a new analysis released by Oxfam.

Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organisations, focusing on the alleviation of global poverty.

This wealth disparity comes as taxes on the rich have reached historic lows.

According to the release, the average wealth per person in the top 1 per cent rose by nearly $400,000 in real terms over the last decade, compared to just $335 – less than nine cents a day – for a person in the bottom half.

A Thursday statement from the international agency’s website disclosed this.

It was titled, “Top 1 per cent bags over $40 trillion in new wealth during the past decade as taxes on the rich reach historic lows.”

“The richest 1 per cent have amassed $42 trillion in new wealth over the past decade, nearly 34 times more than the entire bottom 50 per cent of the world’s population,” according to new analysis by Oxfam today ahead of the third meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“The average wealth per person in the top 1 per cent rose by nearly $400,000 in real terms over the last decade compared to just $335 – an equivalent increase of less than nine cents a day – for a person in the bottom half.

“This week G20 Finance Ministers are expected to lay the foundations of a groundbreaking global deal to increase taxes on the super-rich. Championed by the Brazilian G20 Presidency and backed by countries including South Africa, Spain, and France, the proposal comes amid growing public demand for measures to rein in extreme levels of inequality and ensure that the rich pay their fair share,” it read.

Oxfam International’s Head of Inequality Policy, Max Lawson, criticised the extreme inequality and government inaction, urging G20 governments to show political will in implementing higher taxes on the super-rich to address the disparity.

“Inequality has reached obscene levels, and until now governments have failed to protect people and the planet from its catastrophic effects.

“The richest one per cent of humanity continues to fill their pockets while the rest are left to scrabble for crumbs.

“Momentum to increase taxes on the super-rich is undeniable, and this week is the first real litmus test for G20 governments. Do they have the political will to strike a global standard that puts the needs of the many before the greed of an elite few?” Lawson said.

A “war on fair taxation” has seen tax rates on the wealth and income of the richest collapse.

“Oxfam has calculated that less than eight cents in every dollar raised in tax revenue in G20 countries now comes from taxes on wealth.

“Oxfam’s research also found that the share of income of the top 1 per cent of earners in G20 countries has risen by 45 per cent over four decades while top tax rates on their incomes were cut by roughly a third.

“Globally, billionaires have been paying a tax rate equivalent to less than 0.5 per cent of their wealth.

“Their fortunes have risen by an annual average of 7.1 per cent over the last four decades, and an annual net wealth tax of at least 8 per cent would be needed to reduce billionaires’ extreme wealth. G20 countries are home to nearly four out of five of the world’s billionaires,” it added.