The fortunes of the ten richest men in the world have doubled since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic while the incomes of 99% of humanity have shrunk, according to an Oxfam report, published on Monday January 17.
"The increase in economic, gender and racial inequalities and inequalities between countries are destroying our world", denounces the NGO for the fight against poverty, in a report entitled "Inequalities kill" and published on the edge of the Forum of Davos.
The cumulative wealth of all billionaires has experienced since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic "its largest increase on record", from 5,000 billion dollars, to reach its highest level "at 13.8 billion .
>> Covid-19: how the super-rich got rich during the pandemic
236 billion euros earned by French billionaires
The ten richest people in the world include according to Forbes magazine Elon Musk, Tesla boss Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Bernard Arnaud (LVMH), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta/Facebook), Waren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway), Larry Ellison (Oracle).
In France, from March 2020 to October 2021, the fortune of French billionaires increased by 86%, according to Oxfam.
“With the additional 236 billion euros garnered in 19 months by French billionaires, we could quadruple the budget of the public hospital or distribute a check for 3,500 euros to each French person”.
The NGO adds that "we can overcome extreme poverty through progressive taxation" and public health systems that are free for all.
Oxfam also recommends not to hinder the creation of unions and to remove intellectual property on vaccine patents.
“Billionaires had a tremendous pandemic”
Inequality contributes to the deaths of "at least 21,000 people a day" based on global deaths from lack of access to healthcare, gender-based violence, hunger, Oxfam says and the climate crisis.
“A windfall tax of 99% on pandemic income from the ten richest men would produce enough vaccines for the world, provide universal social and medical protection, fund climate adaptation and reduce climate-related violence. gender in 80 countries", gives the example of the NGO.
She specifies that this would still leave “8 billion more than before the pandemic for these men”.
"Billionaires had a tremendous pandemic. Central banks pumped trillions of dollars into financial markets to save the economy, many of which ended up in the pockets of billionaires."
The World Economic Forum warned for its part that the large inequalities in access to vaccines against Covid-19 risk weakening the fight for major international causes, such as climate change.
The face-to-face Davos Forum has been pushed back to the summer because of the Omicron variant, but an online edition opens Monday until January 21.
With AFP
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