There are more than twice the number of billionaires in existence today than during the 2009 financial crisis, a new report from a global charity has found.
Oxfam’s statistics aim to show that inequality continues to grow, with the very rich gaining even more money while the very poor struggle to find available means to survive.
Oxfam’s Chief Executive Mark Goldring said,
In a world where hundreds of millions of people are living without access to clean drinking water and without enough food to feed their families, a small elite have more money than they could spend in several lifetimes.
The billionaire population has risen to 1,645 since 2009, the wealth of which grew 124 percent to $5.4 trillion, according to Oxfam’s Even it Up campaign.
Last January, it was revealed that the 85 richest people have as much money as the poorer half of the world, accumulating $668 million per day in the past year.
But part of the problem could be solved with taxes. By taxing wealth exceeding $1 billion by 1.5 percent, enough money could be collected to provide healthcare and education to the world’s poorest nations, according to Oxfam.
And that would just be for the most basic resources. More help is needed, however, considering one million women have died from childbirth over the past five years simply because they didn’t have access to adequate care, and 57 million children are currently receiving no schooling whatsoever.
Inequality is a huge factor in the plight of sub-Saharan Africa as well, where 16 people are billionaires, but 358 million struggle to feed, clothe and house themselves.
Goldring added,
The consequences of extreme inequality are harmful to everyone — it robs millions of people of better life chances and fuels crime, corruption and even violent conflict. Put simply, it is holding back efforts to end poverty.
The report marks the introduction of the charity’s Even It Out campaign, urging governments to enforce taxation on capital gains and corporations, prosecute tax evasion and create laws ensuring workers are given fair pay.
via RT, Photo Courtesy: Paramount Pictures
Read more: http://elitedaily.com/news/world/billionaires-doubled-since-financial-crisis/822925/
The Number Of Billionaires Has Doubled Since The Financial Crisis
Billionaires, financial crisis, Mark Goldring, Oxfam, report
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