Pre-Davos report shows how 1% now own more than rest of us combined
Runaway inequality has created a world where 62 people own as
much as the poorest half of the world's population, according to an Oxfam report
published today ahead of the annual gathering of the world's financial
and political elites in Davos. This number has fallen dramatically from
388 as recently as 2010 and 80 last year.
An Economy for the 1%, shows that the wealth of the poorest half
of the world's population - that's 3.6 billion people - has fallen by a
trillion dollars since 2010. This 41 per cent drop has occurred despite
the global population increasing by around 400 million people during
that period. Meanwhile the wealth of the richest 62 has increased by
more than half a trillion dollars to $1.76tr. Just nine of the '62' are
women.
Although world leaders have increasingly talked about the need to
tackle inequality, the gap between the richest and the rest has widened
dramatically in the past 12 months. Oxfam's prediction - made ahead of
last year's Davos - that the 1% would soon own more than the rest of us
by 2016, actually came true in 2015, a year early.
Oxfam is calling for urgent action to tackle the inequality
crisis and reverse the dramatic fall in wealth of the poorest half of
the world. It is urging world leaders to adopt a three-pronged approach -
cracking down on tax dodging, increased investment in public services
and action to boost the income of the lowest paid. As a priority, it is
calling for an end to the era of tax havens which has seen increasing
use of offshore centres by rich individuals and companies to avoid
paying their fair share to society. This has denied governments valuable
resources needed to tackle
poverty and inequality.
It is three years since David Cameron told Davos that he would
lead a global effort against aggressive avoidance in the UK and in poor
countries, yet promised measures to increase transparency in British
Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, such as the Cayman Islands
and British Virgin Islands, have not yet been implemented.
Mark Goldring, Oxfam GB Chief Executive, said: "It is simply
unacceptable that the poorest half of the world population owns no more
than a small group of the global super-rich - so few, you could fit them
all on a single coach.
"World leaders' concern about the escalating inequality crisis
has so far not translated into concrete action to ensure that those at
the bottom get their fair share of economic growth. In a world where one
in nine people go to bed hungry every night we cannot afford to carry
on giving the richest an ever bigger slice of the cake.
"We need to end the era of tax havens which has allowed rich
individuals and multinational companies to avoid their responsibilities
to society by hiding ever increasing amounts of money offshore.
"Tackling the veil of secrecy surrounding the UK's network of tax
havens would be a big step towards ending extreme inequality. Three
years after he made his promise to make tax dodgers 'wake up and smell
the coffee', it is time for David Cameron to deliver."
