World’s 62 richest people own same as half of global population

A report released in London by Oxfam reveals that the wealthiest 62 people on earth own as much as half of the world’s population.

The revelation is coming ahead of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

According to the report, some 3.5 billion people have grown poorer as the super-rich have grown richer, noting that the wealth of the richest 62 people has risen by 44 per cent since 2010, while the wealth of the poorest 3.5 billion fell 41 per cent.

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Oxfam International Executive Director,Winnie Byanima said in a statement accompanying the report that “World leaders’ concern about the escalating inequality crisis has so far not translated into concrete action.

“We cannot continue to allow hundreds of millions of people to go hungry while resources that could be used to help them are sucked up by those at the top.

Byanima said multinational companies and wealthy elites are playing by different rules to everyone else, refusing to pay the taxes that society needs to function. “The fact that 188 of 201 leading companies have a presence in at least one tax haven shows it is time to act.

“Ensuring governments collect the taxes they are owed by companies and rich individuals will be vital if world leaders are to meet their goal to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030, one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals set in September,’’ she said.

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