“The Oxfam report found that over the past few decades, the rich have successfully wielded political influence to skew policies in their favour on issues ranging from financial deregulation, tax havens, anti-competitive business practices to lower tax rates on high incomes and cuts in public services for the majority. Since the late 1970s, tax rates for the richest have fallen in 29 out of 30 countries for which data are available, said the report.”
Summary
1. Almost half of the world’s wealth is now owned by just one percent of the population.
2. The wealth of the one percent richest people in the world amounts to $110 trillion. That’s 65 times the total wealth of the bottom half of the world’s population.
3. The bottom half of the world’s population owns the same as the richest 85 people in the world.
4. Seven out of ten people live in countries where economic inequality has increased in the last 30 years.
5. The richest one percent increased their share of income in 24 out of 26 countries for which we have data between 1980 and 2012.
6. In the US, the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of post-financial crisis growth since 2009, while the bottom 90 percent became poorer.
In the Guardian…
As World Economic Forum starts in Davos, development charity claims that growing inequality has been driven by a ‘power grab’ by wealthy elites.
VIRALITY 