The Covid-19 pandemic has been good for the wallets of the wealthy.
Some 573 people have joined the billionaire ranks since 2020 bringing the worldwide total to 2,668, according to an analysis released by Oxfam on Sunday.
That means a new billionaire was minted about every 30 hours, on average, so far during the pandemic.
The report, which draws on data compiled by Forbes, looks at the rise of inequality over the past two years. It is timed to coincide with the kickoff of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, a gathering of some of the wealthiest people and world leaders.
Billionaires have seen their total net worth soar by $3.8 trillion, or 42%, to $12.7 trillion during the pandemic.
A large part of the increase has been fuelled by strong gains in the stock markets which was aided by governments injecting money into the global economy to soften the financial blow of the coronavirus.
Much of the jump in wealth came in the first year of the pandemic. It then plateaued and has since dropped a bit, said Max Lawson, head of inequality policy at Oxfam.
At the same time, Covid-19, growing inequality and rising food prices could push as many as 263 million people into extreme poverty this year, reversing decades of progress, Oxfam said in a report released last month.
“I’ve never seen such a dramatic growth in poverty and growth in wealth at the same moment in history,” Lawson said. “It’s going to hurt a lot of people.” Continue reading
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