A recent report from Oxfam seems to reiterate the thoughts of many that there is a clear imbalance regarding how wealth is currently distributed throughout the world. Oxfam's findings show that the top 85 wealthiest individuals in the world have fortunes that equal the collective wealth of the poorer half of the world's entire population of 7 billion individuals.
The report was published amidst preparations for the upcoming World Economic Forum. World leaders and other financial giants will attend the forum to discuss measures to address the present inequality in wealth distribution. Financial inequality is a problem for almost every country in the world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Moreover, the inequality in wealth also spills over to other facets of living such as access to adequate health facilities and education.
Oxfam's report, which was released on Monday, shows that 85 individuals have the financial resources equal to that of approximately 3.5 billion people.
"Economic inequality is rapidly increasing in the majority of countries," says the report. "The wealth of the world is divided in two: almost half going to the richest one percent; the other half to the remaining 99 percent."
The report also advocates the introduction of a number of policies that Oxfam hopes will be discussed at the upcoming World Economic Forum to be held in Davos, Switzerland. These proposals include the implementation of more stringent measures against tax evasion, increasing financial transparency and the increase in funding for universal education and healthcare. Additional points raised also include improvements in tax laws, the protection of laborer and employee rights as well as providing equal rights of opportunities for women.
The current top 85 wealthiest individuals have the combined financial worth of around $1.7 trillion, which also happens to be the combined financial worth of 3.5 billion people in the bottom half of the total 7 billion people currently alive. $1.7 trillion is worth about 0.7 percent of the total wealth in the world. For the average individual, it may be difficult to process that fact that this amount of wealth is also owned by a fraction of a single percent of the world's population.
