New Oxfam study: Wealth inequality worldwide on the rise

  • From Sonja Hennen
  • Reading duration 2 min

Global inequality in the distribution of wealth is widening, according to a new study by Oxfam. While the richest have seen their wealth increase significantly in recent years, the economic crisis is making life harder for the poorest. The study, Inequality Inc, was presented by Oxfam at the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The five richest men had a fortune of $405 billion in 2020, which has since risen to $869 billion. Overall, billionaires have increased their wealth by $3.3 trillion since 2020, while the world's poorest five billion people have lost $20 billion in wealth. The study is based on data from several sources, including Forbes' estimates of billionaire wealth and Credit Suisse's estimates of global wealth.

Inequality is also on the rise in Germany. Adjusted for inflation, the total wealth of the five richest Germans has risen by around three quarters since 2020, to around USD 155 billion.

The report attributes the rise in inequality not least to the growing power of corporations and the monopolisation of the economy. The richest one per cent own 43 per cent of all global financial assets. The authors therefore call for higher taxes on wealth and a more active state that invests in education, public infrastructure and housing and regulates monopolies.

For years, in addition to organisations such as Oxfam, more and more rich people have been campaigning for higher taxation of their assets. One of them is the Austrian Marlene Engelhorn. She recently announced that she would place 90 per cent of her wealth in the hands of a committee made up of randomly selected citizens, who would be free to decide what to do with the money.