World’s five richest men more than double fortunes in 3 years as poor get poorer

The world’s five richest men have seen their fortunes increase by more than double to $869bn (£682bn) in the past three years while six out of 10 of the global population – almost five billion people – have grown poorer, anti-poverty campaigners say.

Governments must do more to “rein in” corporate power by smashing monopolies; taxing excess profit and wealth; and promoting alternatives to shareholder control such as forms of employee ownership, the charity Oxfam said.

It estimated that 148 top corporations made $1.8tn in profits, up 52 per cent on average since 2020, allowing hefty payouts to shareholders even as millions of workers faced a cost of living crisis as inflation led to real-terms wage cuts

Oxfam’s report is published ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Its study found that of the world’s 1,600 largest corporations, fewer than 1 per cent of them (0.4%) are publicly committed to paying workers a living wage and supporting a living wage in their supply chains.

Bernard Arnault, owner of the LVMH luxury group (Photo: Michel Euler/AP)

Billionaires are $3.3tn (£2.6tn) richer than they were in 2020, a rate of increase three times faster than the rate of inflation. The wealth of the five richest men increased by 114 per cent. Meanwhile, the wealth of the poorest 4.77 billion people (60 per cent) fell by 0.2 per cent in real terms.

The top five billionaires were Tesla CEO Elon Musk, LVMH chief Bernard Arnault, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and investor Warren Buffett,

The inflation-adjusted surge in their wealth was driven by strong gains in their assets, Oxfam found.

Its researchers concludes that substantial wealth is increasingly being concentrated in fewer hands.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP)

A billionaire leads seven out of 10 of the world’s biggest companies and the world will see its first trillionaire within a decade, but poverty will not be eradicated for another 229 years, the report says.

In the UK, the richest 1 per cent own a third of all financial assets, with a value of $2.1tn (£1.6tn), the report says.

Aleema Shivji, Oxfam GB’s interim chief executive, said “These extremes cannot be accepted as the new norm, the world can’t afford another decade of division. Extreme poverty in the poorest countries is still higher than it was pre-pandemic, yet a small number of super-rich men are racing to become the world’s first trillionaire within the next 10 years.

“This ever-widening gulf between the rich and the rest isn’t accidental, nor is it inevitable. Governments worldwide are making deliberate political choices that enable and encourage this distorted concentration of wealth, while hundreds of millions of people live in poverty.

“A fairer economy is possible, one that works for us all. What’s needed are concerted policies that deliver fairer taxation and support for everyone, not just the privileged.”

Investor Warren Buffett (Photo: Nati Harnik/AP)

Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International’s interim leader, said growing inequality was “no accident”.

She added: “We’re witnessing the beginnings of a decade of division, with billions of people shouldering the economic shockwaves of pandemic, inflation and war, while billionaires’ fortunes boom.

“This inequality is no accident; the billionaire class is ensuring corporations deliver more wealth to them at the expense of everyone else.

“Runaway corporate and monopoly power is an inequality-generating machine: through squeezing workers, dodging tax, privatising the state, and spurring climate breakdown, corporations are funneling endless wealth to their ultra-rich owners.

“But they’re also funnelling power, undermining our democracies and our rights.”

Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle Corporation (Photo: Mark J Terrill/AP)

The report calls for wealth taxes to be included as one of the solutions to both reduce inequality and raise vital revenue for public investment.

It says a wealth tax on British millionaires and billionaires, at a rate of between one to two per cent on net wealth above £10m, could generate £22bn each year.

Investor Julia Davies, a member of Patriotic Millionaires UK, a non-partisan group of British millionaires campaigning for a wealth tax, said “Only 4p in every tax pound comes from taxes on wealth.

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“It is miniscule, especially when compared to income at 42P in the pound. I am fortunate enough to be able to contribute more and want to do so. People argue that millionaires like me can just donate more voluntarily to the Treasury – but this clearly isn’t a solution.

“Just like income taxes, wealth taxes should be mandatory, not optional.”

Oxfam says that ensuring universal provision of healthcare and education will help reduce the growing gap betweent the super-rich and the rest.

It also calls for the exploration of public options for providing goods and services in sectors from energy to transportation.

They charity suggests the creation and promotion of a “new generation of companies” that do not put shareholders first – including worker co-operatives and fair-trade businesses. These would receive priority financial support which is currently directed at companies that “miss net-zero targets, pay below living wages or [are] dodging taxes.”