Talk about the haves and the have-nots. According to a 2017 report by Oxfam International, the gap between rich and poor in the world is widening. The report states that the wealth of the eight richest people (all of them men) in the world is equal to the wealth of the 3.6 billion people who make up the bottom half of the world’s poorest people. According to Oxfam, big business and the ultra-rich are further exacerbating the income inequality crisis by dodging taxes, driving down wages, and using their money to influence politicians. Just last year, Oxfam's report said that the top 62 richest people held the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the people on Earth.
Who will be the world's first trillionaire?
- “It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few when 1 in 10 people survive on less than $2 a day,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International.
- The richest among us are accumulating wealth at such an astonishing rate, Oxfam said, that the world could see its first trillionaire in just 25 years.
- Public anger about income inequality has been linked to the election of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, to the Brexit vote in the UK, and to the election of Donald Trump in the United States. Ironically, the multi-millionaire was able to win by appealing to the country’s disgruntled have-nots.
Follow wiseGEEK
More Info: Oxfam International
Discussion Comments
From The Interview with God: "... a rich person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least".
I have enough for the things I -need- and a bit more for the things I -want- so I feel very fortunate. There will always be someone who has more than I do. It is up to them to determine how they use it. Being envious of another's wealth is a waste of energy.
I am not absorbed by the "wealth gap". I wish it wasn't there. My life is consumed with my faith and family, however. I try to help the less fortunate as I go along.
I think the direction of our government is worth a try. Wealthy people are typically not going to worry about enriching themselves when their leader is not going to do it and be harsh on anyone who gets out of line. How many bureaucrats have left government richer than when they came in?
If anything, these are just facts! Would you not agree this information needs to be known? Clearly there's a problem with the distribution of wealth.
I enjoy much of the information that comes out of wiseGEEK each day, but your politics are starting to show through. If this is your intent, then I will regrettably unsubscribe. The information is becoming very politically slanted and does not tell the full story. I hope this is not intentional.
So what? More power to them.
Post your comments