The ten richest people in the world during the coronavirus pandemic – that is, between March 2020 and November 2021 – doubled their fortune. Now it totals 1.3 billion euros. This follows from the report of the association of charitable organizations Oxfam, published on Monday, January 17, in Berlin.
All billionaires collectively increased their wealth more during the above period than in the 14 years preceding the pandemic, the document says further. According to Oxfam, the 55,000 richest people on the planet increased their fortunes by 14% between 2019 and 2021. By comparison, global wealth rose by 1% over this period. “The gulf between the richest and the rest of humanity has thus widened dramatically,” the authors of the report state.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, about half of the world’s population, or 3.2 billion people, lived in poverty. To date, this number has increased by 160 million, according to Oxfam. As the economies of the poorer countries have yet to recover from the effects of the pandemic, the poorest 20% have been hardest hit by the loss of income.
“For billionaires, the pandemic has become a gold rush,” said Manuel Schmitt of Oxfam. “Governments have pumped billions into the economy, but most (of that money. – Ed.) has remained with people who especially benefit from stock prices.”
Deterioration of the position of women
Of particular concern to experts is the deteriorating situation of girls and women. Compared to the situation two years ago, the number of women who receive money for their work has decreased by 13 million people on the planet. At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of women doing unpaid work, such as caring for family members.
At the same time, in Germany, the trend towards “a very strong concentration of wealth (in the hands of a small proportion of the population. – Ed.)”. If before the pandemic, the combined wealth of the ten richest residents of the country was estimated at 125 billion euros, today it is 223 billion euros, Oxfam calculated. According to the association, the proportion of the poor in Germany today is 16% of the country’s population. This is 13 million people , a “record” figure in this area, experts warn.
Oxfam is calling on governments around the world to impose higher taxes on corporations and the super-rich, and use the proceeds from this to develop social services. In addition, it is necessary to abandon patents for coronavirus vaccines and ensure their fair distribution on the planet, the association believes.
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