Wealth: Having It All and Wanting More | Oxfam International
Global wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small wealthy elite.
These wealthy individuals have generated and sustained their vast
riches through their interests and activities in a few important
economic sectors, including finance and insurance and pharmaceuticals
and healthcare.
Companies from these sectors spend millions of
dollars every year on lobbying to create a policy environment that
protects and enhances their interests further. The most prolific
lobbying activities in the US are on budget and tax issues; public
resources that should be directed to benefit the whole population,
rather than reflect the interests of powerful lobbyists.
This
briefing explains Oxfam’s methodology and data sources and updates key
inequality statistics, such as Oxfam’s frequently cited fact in 2014:
‘85 billionaires have the same wealth as the bottom half of the world’s
population.’
