The equivalent of an increase of $14 million per hour. According to a report published by the NGO Oxfam on Mondayjust before the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the fortune of the five richest men in the world increased from $405 billion to $869 billion between 2020 and 2023.
Buoyed by a surge in stock prices, the ultra-rich see their financial weight grow year after year thanks to their participation in the capital of multinationals. Thus, billionaires have become richer by 3,300 billion dollars in three years, deplores the NGO in its study, citing in particular the founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos among the richest men on the planet. At the same time, the association specifies, the cumulative wealth of five billion people on Earth has declined.
“Large companies widen inequalities”
“By putting pressure on workers with wages that increase less quickly than inflation, by avoiding taxes, by privatizing the State and by participating greatly in global warming, big companies are widening inequalities,” writes the international organization in its report entitled “Multinationals and multiple inequalities”.
The World Economic Forum meeting in Davos will see more than 800 business leaders and 60 heads of state and government mingle throughout the week for conferences and informal meetings. It is precisely this mixture between public and private interests that the NGO criticizes: “Companies and their rich owners also maintain inequalities by waging a sustained and very effective tax war,” she insists.
Implement a wealth tax on multimillionaires and billionaires
“Across the world, members of the private sector have consistently called for lower rates, more loopholes, less transparency and other measures aimed at allowing businesses to contribute as little as possible to the coffers. the State,” she continues, citing the “hordes of lobbyists” and the “wonderful benefits” that result from them. Since 1980, corporate tax has been more than halved within OECD member countries, falling to 23.1% in 2022, details the NGO.
In addition to dismantling private monopolies and capping CEO pay, Oxfam is calling for a wealth tax on multimillionaires and billionaires, which could raise up to $1.8 trillion a year.