The eight richest people in the world have doubled the value of their wealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a report published by Oxfam today in Berlin, between March 2020 and November 2021, their total wealth increased to 1.3 trillion euros, according to Deutsche Welle.
And the 55,000 richest people on the planet increased their wealth by 14% between 2019 and 2021. By comparison, global wealth rose by 1% over that period.
“Thus, the gap between the richest and the rest of humanity has widened dramatically,” the report says.
Before COVID-19, about half of the world’s population, or 3.2 billion people, lived in poverty. To date, this number has increased by 160 million. The poorest 20% suffer the most from income loss.
“For billionaires, the pandemic has turned into a gold rush,” said report columnist Manuel Schmidt. “Governments have poured billions into the economy, but the bulk of them remain those who have successfully capitalized on the stock market.”
The situation of girls and women is of particular concern. Compared to two years ago, the number of women who receive money for their work worldwide has decreased by 13 million people. At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of women doing unpaid work, such as caring for family members.
At the same time, there is a growing trend in Germany towards “a very strong concentration of wealth in the hands of a small percentage of the population.”
If before the pandemic, the total wealth of the ten richest people in the country was estimated at 125 billion euros, today it is 223 billion euros. And the proportion of the poor in Germany rose to a record 16% of the population.