Five hundred and seventy-three new billionaires have been created since the ovid-19 pandemic. That’s one billionaires every thirty hours. Contrary to popular belief, there will be 263 millions more people living in extreme poverty by the end this year, which is one million per 33 hours according to Oxfam Intermon’s new report, published Monday at the World Economic Forum.
Since the pandemic, the number of Spanish billionaires on Forbes has increased: four new billionaires have been added to the list, while the wealth of billionaires who were already wealthy before the pandemic has grown at 6.8 million euros annually. day.
“For billionaires the pandemic as well as conflict in Ukraine and the dramatic increase in food prices and energy prices are creating a period of prosperity. This reality contrasts with a clear setback of the achievements of the recent decades in fighting extreme poverty at a worldwide level,” stated Inigo Macias from Oxfam Intermon’s research department.
These billionaires have already amassed 13.9% of the world’s total wealth, which is more than triple its value in 2000 (when it was 4.4%).
“The fortunes these billionaires haven’t grown so quickly and so much in so little time because they work harder or are more productive. They own and invest in corporations that take advantage of their market power and deregulation. In many cases, they violate the rights of workers while hiding their wealth in tax havens. Macias said that all this was done with the help of the governments.
Rising energy and food prices have created tensions in the social and political worlds of Peru to Sudan to Sri Lanka and Sudan to Peru. According to this NGO, almost 60% of low income countries are at risk of going bankrupt due to inability or unwillingness to pay their public debts. Compared to advanced economies, the poor spend more than twice their income on food. Inflation increases everywhere. This is especially bad for low-wage workers who are more vulnerable and exposed to the pandemic. It has been worse for women, people with disabilities, and those who live in areas of exclusion.
Oxfam Intermon’s new study also shows that global companies in the food, energy and pharmaceutical sectors are making record profits, despite the fact workers’ wages have not increased and that they have had to face the largest price rise in decades.
Five of the largest energy companies, namely BP, Shell and TotalEnergies, made $2,600 per second last year. The fortunes of billionaires working in the energy and food sectors have increased by $453Billion in the past two years. This equates to $1B every two days. In the same time frame, 62 new billionaires emerged from the food industry.
There have been 40 new billionaires in the pharmaceutical industry since the outbreak of the pandemic. Moderna and Pfizer make $1,000 per second in pharmaceutical profits, thanks to their exclusive monopoly of the covid-19 vaccine. This is despite having received billions in public investment. Oxfam condemns this.
