Tuesday, 26 March 2024
    28
    Jan

    Inequalities increasing

    Australia’s rich keep getting richer, with the top 1 per cent of Australians having more than double the wealth of the entire bottom 50 per cent — or more than 12.5 million people – according to Oxfam, ABC News reports.

    Globally, the wealthiest 1 per cent of people in the world have more than double the wealth of 6.9 billion people.

    Oxfam’s annual list highlighting inequality has found the number of billionaires in Australia decreased from 43 in 2018 to 36 in 2019, but that the number has more than tripled over the past 10 years and the value of their wealth is still increasing.

    The report, which was released ahead of the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, found that the wealth of Australian billionaires, who are mostly men, grew by an average of $US460 million from 2018 to 2019.

    Oxfam Australia chief executive Lyn Morgain said the top 1 per cent of Australians, just 250,000 people, owned nearly $US1.6 trillion — equating to 22.2 per cent of the nation’s wealth.

    “This concentration of wealth in the hands of the super-rich is occurring while the share of wealth of the bottom half of our community has decreased over the last decade and workers’ wages continue to stagnate in Australia,” she said.

    The world’s billionaires, 2,153 people in 2019, have more wealth between them than 4.6 billion people.

    The report found the richest 22 men in the world own more wealth than all the women in Africa.

    At a global level, inequality was “shockingly entrenched and vast, often affecting women and girls the most”, Ms Morgain said.

    “The wealthiest 1 per cent of people in the world have more than double the wealth of 6.9 billion people.

    “This is not fair or sustainable.”

    FULL STORY

    Australia has slightly fewer billionaires, but their wealth is still increasing says Oxfam (ABC News)

    World’s richest 1 per cent have double wealth of rest of us combined, says Oxfam (Sydney Morning Herald)

    READ MORE

    Oxfam report finds Aussie billionaires grew wealth by $A667 million in one year (NT News)

    PHOTO

    World Economic Foru