Hundreds of new billionaires since 2020 in contrast with hundreds of millions pushed into extreme poverty worldwide, international charity says.
More than 260 million people could be plunged into extreme poverty this year because of skyrocketing inflation while hundreds have become billionaires whose cumulative wealth rose 30 percent, according to global charity Oxfam International.
The COVID-19 pandemic and rising food prices linked to the Russian war on Ukraine could push hundreds of millions into desperate circumstances, the group warned as it urged governments partaking in the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting to take action.
Billionaires are arriving in Davos to celebrate an incredible surge in their fortunes. The pandemic and now the steep increases in food and energy prices have, simply put, been a bonanza for them.
“Meanwhile, decades of progress on extreme poverty are now in reverse and millions of people are facing impossible rises in the cost of simply staying alive”, said Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International, on Monday....
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