Oxfam Finds 8 Men Have as Much Wealth as Half of the World’s Population

On Monday, as many across the United States celebrated the nation’s greatest civil rights hero, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and elites from around the world gather for the 2017 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the international charity Oxfam released a damning analysis about income inequality.

It turns out less men than one can count on two hands are hoarding half the world’s wealth, a fact Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International, calls “obscene.” While the original report, published a year ago, had stated 62 of the super rich had as much wealth as 3.6 billion people, as new information came to light, the organization whittled the figure down to an astounding eight men, most of which are American (aside from a Spaniard and a Mexican).

“This is the perfect but horribly sad point to make on MLK day,” wrote Truthdig editor-in-chief Robert Scheer in an email to the publication’s editors. “It is so easy to blast Donald Trump over his slight of John Lewis while ignoring the abysmal failure of the liberal/moderate elite to address growing income inequality — Nay, to author this horrid development.

“And it is a scandal,” Scheer continued, “that MLK’s home of Atlanta remains a center of so much poverty a half century after his death.”

From The Associated Press:

The gap between the super-rich and the poorest half of the global population is starker than previously thought, with just eight men, from Bill Gates to Michael Bloomberg, owning as much wealth as 3.6 billion people, according to an analysis by Oxfam released Monday. … Oxfam used Forbes’ billionaires list that was last published in March 2016 to make its headline claim. According to the Forbes list, Microsoft founder Gates is the richest individual with a net worth of $75 billion. The others, in order of ranking, are Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of fashion house Inditex, financier Warren Buffett, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

Oxfam outlined measures that it hopes will be enacted to help reduce the inequality.

They include higher taxes on wealth and income to ensure a more level playing field and to fund investments in public services and jobs, greater cooperation among governments on ensuring workers are paid decently and the rich don’t dodge their taxes. And business leaders should commit to paying their fair share of taxes and a living wage to employees.

Max Lawson, Oxfam’s policy adviser, urged billionaires to “do the right thing,” and to do “what Bill Gates has called on them to do, which is pay their taxes.” … It’s because of this kind of inequality that trust in institutions has fallen sharply since the global financial crisis of 2008, according to Edelman, one of the world’s biggest marketing firms.

— Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata

Related Entries

• January 16, 2017 Remembering the Real Martin Luther King
• November 29, 2016 Despite Hundreds of Arrests, Striking Workers Remain Undaunted in Fight for $15 Minimum Wage