The shocking truth about inequality today - WEF
Every January I get a glimpse into a different world. A world of billionaires, of business and political elites, coming together in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos for the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum.
Curious friends often ask if I have ever met a billionaire and what they are like. I tell them they were born lucky. Lucky to be born a man - 9 out of 10 billionaires are men; lucky to be born into a wealthy family - a third of billionaire fortune is the result of inheritance, lucky to get a decent education in a world where 262 million children don't go to school.
For Oxfam, Davos is an opportunity to take stock of the crisis of extreme inequality.
Our inequality reports have charted the rise and rise of the lucky few over recent years. Our latest report, "Private Wealth or Public Goods," shows that the wealth of the world's billionaires increased by twelve percent or $2.5 billion a day last year. A new billionaire was created every two days between 2017 and 2018.
Meanwhile, the poorest half of humanity, 3.8 billion people, saw their wealth shrink by eleven percent. Just under half the world's population subsists on less than $5.50 a day - one school fee or medical bill away from falling into extreme poverty.
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