World’s richest one percent banked 82 percent of wealth created in 2017

Davos, (Compiled from Deutshe Welle), 23 Jan 2018 -Oxfam on Monday detailed how the richest one percent grew its wealth by $762 billion (€620 billion) in 2017, which it says was enough to end poverty seven times over.   

The report was published on Monday, a day ahead of the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos.   The “Reward Work, Not Wealth” report revealed that 2017 saw the biggest increase in the number of billionaires in history, at 2,043, and challenged the narrative that billionaires are created through talent, hard work and innovation, something that is claimed benefits humanity as a whole.   Instead, Oxfam said there is growing evidence that the richest often grow much of their wealth by way of inheritance, monopoly or crony connections to government.   In its report, Oxfam called for an overhaul of what it described as a “warped” economy that allows eight billionaires to own as much wealth as half of the world’s population, or 3.6 billion people, combined.   

“The billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International.   “The people who make our clothes, assemble our phones and grow our food are being exploited to ensure a steady supply of cheap goods, and swell the profits of corporations and billionaire investors.”    Oxfam reported that pay ratios mean the average pay of leading UK company chief executives is 129 times that of the average employee. It was the equivalent of 10,000 people working in Bangladeshi garment factories.