A recent Oxfam report reveals a surge in extreme wealth, with billionaires in the U.S. becoming 46% richer in just three years. Despite this, 37.9 million Americans live in poverty, and global poverty is not expected to be eradicated for another 229 years. The report predicts the world's first trillionaire within a decade. While signs of progress include rising nominal wages and successful labor deals, experts suggest that policies such as progressive taxation and higher tax rates on extreme wealth could significantly reduce income inequality. In response, over 250 billionaires and millionaires have called for higher taxes on the wealthiest individuals.
Oxfam International's report "Inequality Inc." warns that the world could see its first trillionaire within 10 years if current inequality trends persist, with the wealth of the five richest individuals nearly doubling since 2019 while nearly 5 billion people have become poorer. The report highlights the increasing gap between the wealthy and the poor, urging governments to implement measures such as CEO salary caps and permanent taxes on wealth and excess profits to address the escalating wealth inequality.
Oxfam's report reveals that the world's five richest individuals have doubled their wealth since 2020, earning $14m an hour, while global poverty has increased for the first time in nearly three decades. The report attributes this widening inequality to multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as the absence of progressive taxation on new wealth being generated. Oxfam suggests higher taxes as a way to redistribute concentrated wealth and close the inequality gap, estimating that a yearly 5 percent wealth tax could mobilize up to $1.7 trillion to address humanitarian crises and support countries affected by climate change.
