Those among the world’s richest 1% have more wealth than everyone else, an Oxfam report revealed on Monday. The report also claimed that the richest 62 people in the world have assets equal to the poorer half of the population. Five years ago, this number was 388, the agency said.
The agency made public its "An Economy for the 1%" report a day before the World Economic Forum in Davos, which brings together the world’s financial and political elite. More than 40 heads of government, in addition to business leaders and policymakers, are expected to attend the event, which will end on Saturday.
Oxfam's findings stated that women are disproportionately affected by the wealth inequality – the majority of low paid workers are women, AFP reported. The gap between the richest and the rest has widened dramatically in the past 12 months," Oxfam said. The anti-poverty body had predicted these figures in 2015, and said they have indeed come true.
The number of people living in extreme poverty has halved between 1990 and 2010, the report said, but the average income of the poorest 10% has risen by less than $3 a year.
Oxfam’s International Executive Director Winnie Byanima, who will also attend Davos, said: "It is simply unacceptable that the poorest half of the world's population owns no more than a few dozen super-rich people who could fit onto one bus."
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