Richest 5 people 534 trillion won → 1147 trillion won… The bottom 5 billion people are poorer
The growth rate of billionaires’ assets is three times faster than the rate of inflation.
21% of the world’s population accounts for 69% of the world’s wealth… extreme polarization
While the wealth of the world’s five richest people more than doubled during the pandemic, about 5 billion people, or 60% of the world’s population, became poorer.
Oxfam, an international relief and development organization, released a ‘Report on Wealth Inequality’ with the following contents on the 15th in conjunction with the World Economic Forum Davos Annual General Meeting (Davos Forum).
According to this, the wealth of the world’s five richest people increased from $405 billion (about 534.924 trillion won) in March 2020 to $869 billion (about 1,147.6014 trillion won) in November 2023.
Approximately 5 billion people around the world in the lowest income bracket have become poorer. The report analyzed that if this trend continues, so-called ‘trillionaires’ will be created within 10 years, and poverty will not be eradicated for the next 230 years.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk increased his assets the most over three years. His assets are $245.5 billion (approximately 324 trillion won), an increase of 737% compared to March 2020.
LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault’s assets increased 111% to $191.3 billion (approximately 252 trillion won), and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ assets increased 24% to $164.7 billion (approximately 221 trillion won).
The wealth of these billionaires with assets of more than US$1 billion has increased by approximately US$3.3 trillion (approximately 4358.64 trillion won) since 2020, which is three times faster than the rate of inflation.
Wealth was also concentrated depending on the region. The population of wealthy countries in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Korea and Germany, is about 21% of the total population, but 69% of the world’s wealth is concentrated in them.
The annual profit records of large corporations also increased significantly. By June 2023, the total net revenue of the world’s 148 largest companies is $1.8 trillion (approximately 2,377 trillion won). This is an increase of approximately 52% compared to the average net revenue from 2018 to 2021.
“As billions of people bear the economic impact of pandemics, inflation and war, we have seen the wealth of billionaires soar,” said Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International. “Big corporate monopolies stifle innovation and crush workers and small businesses. “He said.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.