The 10 richest people in the world added enough money to their fortunes last year to buy COVID-19 vaccines for every person on the planet, says a new report.
British anti-poverty organization Oxfam included the surprising finding in a comprehensive report to illustrate how the pandemic has widened the divide between rich and poor.
“Complicated economies are channeling wealth to a wealthy elite who are facing the pandemic in luxury, while those at the front of the pandemic – shop assistants, health workers and market vendors – are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table ”, Oxfam International executive director Gabriela Bucher said in a statement.
The 10 richest billionaires saw their collective wealth rise by $ 540 billion from March 18 – at the time the coronavirus caused a historic crash in global stock markets – until December 31, according to Oxfam’s analysis of the data of Forbes wealth.
This is more than enough to cover the estimated cost of $ 141.2 billion of production, distribution and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for the entire global population, the nonprofit said in its report on Monday.
Billionaires could also use their additional wealth to keep someone from falling into poverty as a result of the pandemic – which Oxfam says would cost about $ 88 billion a year – and still end up with a gain, according to the report.
Billionaires like Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Tesla boss Elon Musk and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg saw their fortunes explode last year as the stock market staged a record recovery from its pandemic crash.
Its gains contrasted sharply with the massive job losses and economic contractions that resulted from the virus and efforts to control it. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development expects the global economy to shrink 4.2% last year, thanks to the pandemic.
Oxfam urged world leaders to address these inequalities by raising corporate taxes, closing tax havens and expanding social welfare programs.
The group released the recommendations on the first day of the World Economic Forum’s annual Davos conference, which is being held virtually this year.
“Extreme inequality is not inevitable, but a political choice,” said Bucher.