As the world’s wealthy and powerful assemble in Davos for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022, Oxfam International warned on Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in one new billionaire every 30 hours, with nearly one million people facing extreme poverty every 33 hours this year.
The rights group also stated that as the cost of critical items climbs faster than it has in decades, billionaires in the food and energy sectors are boosting their fortunes by USD one billion every two days, according to a report released in Davos titled “Profiting from Pain.”
After a two-year hiatus, the World Economic Forum (WEF), which presents itself as an international organisation promoting public-private partnerships, is holding its annual conference in Davos.
‘Billionaires are flocking to Davos to celebrate a meteoric rise in their wealth. Simply put, the epidemic and subsequent sharp increases in food and energy prices have been a boon to them. Meanwhile, decades of progress against extreme poverty has reversed, and millions of people are suffering unsustainable increases in the cost of simply existing,” said Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director of Oxfam International.
According to the research, 573 people became billionaires during the pandemic, with one every 30 hours.
‘We expect this year that 263 million more people will crash into extreme poverty, at a rate of a million people every 33 hours,” Oxfam International said.
Billionaires’ wealth has risen more in the first 24 months of COVID-19 than in 23 years combined. The total wealth of the world’s billionaires is now equivalent to 13.9 per cent of global GDP, marking a three-fold increase from 4.4 per cent in 2000, it added.
Bucher further said billionaires’ fortunes have not increased because they are now smarter or working harder
Featured Image: ANI
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