Eight billionaires are rich as half world’s population, says charity

Global inequality far worse than previously feared, warns Oxfam

GROWING inequality means a group of men that could fit into a stretched golf buggy own the same wealth as half the world, campaigners have warned world leaders gathering for talks in Switzerland.

The eight billionaires have riches equivalent to the wealth of the world’s 3.6 billion poorest people, according to research by Oxfam.

It said the gap between rich and poor was far greater than had been feared and called for an overhaul of a “warped” economy that allowed a small group to have more wealth than they could ever spend while one in nine people went hungry.

Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond will attend the World Economic Forum of global political and business leaders in Davos this week.

The annual event is often criticised for being little more than a talking shop for the rich and powerful.

The charity said new and better data on the distribution of global wealth, particularly in India and China, showed the poorest had less wealth than previously thought.

Oxfam is calling on international leaders to improve their cooperation to stop tax dodging; take action to encourage companies to act for the benefit of staff as well as shareholders; for wealth taxes to fund healthcare, education and job creation, and improvements in opportunities for women. It also urged business chiefs to commit to paying a living wage and their fair share of tax.

Mark Goldring, Oxfam GB chief executive, said: “This year’s snapshot of inequality is clearer, more accurate and more shocking than ever before. It is beyond grotesque that a group of men who could easily fit in a single golf buggy own more than the poorest humanity.

“While one in nine people on the planet will go to bed hungry tonight a small handful of billionaires have so much wealth they would need several lifetimes to spend it.”

Inequality was keeping millions of people trapped in poverty, Mr Goldring said, adding: “it is fracturing half of our societies and poisoning our politics.

“It’s just not right that top executives take home massive bonuses while workers’ wages are stagnating or that multinationals and millionaires dodge taxes while public services are being cut.”

Oxfam said out-of-control pay ratios meant the average pay of FTSE100 chief executives was 129 times that of the average employee.

Among those cited in the research, Bill Gates, who tops the list, and Warren Buffett, the world’s third-richest man, are known philanthropists who have pledged to give away most of their wealth.

Oxfam said this was “welcome” but did not replace the need for a fair tax system.

Dr Katherine Trebeck, Oxfam GB Senior Researcher, based in Scotland, said more was being done here than elsewhere but it was not enough.

“Extreme inequality isn’t inevitable – with the right policies, world leaders can rebalance our broken economies so they work for all of us and bring the end of poverty closer,” she said.

“On these issues, Scotland is already much more awake – but it’s still hiding under the covers. The purpose of this report is to give world leaders a wake-up call about the extreme scale of inequality and the need to do something about it.”

‘‘ It is beyond grotesque that men who could fit in a golf buggy own more than the poorest half of humanity