World’s richest men ‘double their wealth’ in three years – as Oxfam warns of first trillionaire
The world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes to £688bn in three years – while the wealth of the poorest 60% has fallen, according to Oxfam.
It says the first trillionaire could emerge within a decade but that poverty won’t be eradicated for 229 years.
The charity’s report, Inequality Inc, comes as business and political leaders meet for the World Economic Forum in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Davos.
It’s traditionally used the occasion to highlight the divide between rich and poor, but this year says the gap has been “supercharged” since the pandemic.
The fortunes of Tesla boss Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault – owner of luxury goods firm LVMH, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and investment guru Warren Buffet, have increased 114% in real terms since 2020, says Oxfam.
Their collective wealth is said to have grown from £321bn to £688bn.
Musk alone is estimated to be worth about £180bn, according to the real-time Forbes list Oxfam used for its calculations.
However, the 4.7 billion people who make up the world’s poorest 60% have become 0.2% poorer in real terms, Oxfam says, with many countries unable to give the COVID financial support of richer nations.
Davos is again hosting the renowned annual economic summit
The charity’s interim boss says the prospect of a trillionaire in the next 10 years – while poverty could take 200-plus years to resolve – was “totally unacceptable”
“This ever-widening gulf between the rich and the rest isn’t accidental, nor is it inevitable,” said Aleema Shivji.
“Governments worldwide are making deliberate political choices that enable and encourage this distorted concentration of wealth, while hundreds of millions of people live in poverty.
“A fairer economy is possible, one that works for us all. What’s needed are concerted policies that deliver fairer taxation and support for everyone, not just the privileged.”
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Oxfam is hoping its report can help pressurise policymakers in Davos for the 15-19 January summit.
Among those attending are Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Argentina’s new president Javier Milei, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
Oxfam wants governments to reduce corporate power by measures such as breaking up monopolies, capping bosses’ pay and bringing in higher taxes on excess profit and wealth.
It’s also pushing for alternatives to the shareholder model, such as forms of employee ownership, and more fair-trade businesses.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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