The world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes since 2020, while the poorest 60 per cent have lost money, according to an Oxfam report released on Monday in Davos, Switzerland, where the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) is being held
According to data from research company Wealth X, the combined wealth of Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison and Mark Zuckerberg – the five richest men in the world - has increased by €423.8 billion ($464 billion), or 114 per cent since 2020
Within the same timeframe, the world’s poorest 4.77 billion people have lost 0.2 per cent in real terms of their wealth
That means that while the world’s billionaires were €3 trillion ($3.3 trillion) richer in 2023 than in 2020 - with their wealth growing three times faster than the rate of inflation -, almost five billion people have gotten poorer
According to the international network, the huge gap between the rich and the poor is likely to continue growing, leading to the creation of the world’s very first trillionaire within a decade
World poverty, on the other hand, won’t be eradicated before 230 years, Oxfam estimates
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