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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/16/oxfam-wealth-inequality-davos/ The world could have its first trillionaire within 10 years if current inequality trends continue, antipoverty group Oxfam International said in a report published Monday, reflecting the increasing gap between the world’s wealthy and poor. The report, titled “Inequality Inc.,” was released the same day as the start of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Its authors say the world is living through a “decade of division,” pointing out that since 2019, the world’s five wealthiest people have almost doubled their wealth, while nearly 5 billion people have become poorer. Using data from Forbes, the report’s authors calculated that the combined wealth of those five men — Tesla CEO Elon Musk; Bernard Arnault and his family, who own luxury goods group LVMH; Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; Oracle founder Larry Ellison; and investor Warren Buffett — increased from $453 billion in 2019 to $869 billion as of November 2023. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) In their methodology, the authors wrote that if that growth trajectory continues, Musk — the world’s richest person, according to Forbes — is projected to become a trillionaire in fewer than nine years, though they noted that the estimate is subject to uncertainty. “If each of the five wealthiest men were to spend a million dollars daily, they would take 476 years to exhaust their combined wealth,” Oxfam’s authors wrote. Representatives for these individuals could not immediately be reached late Monday. But, Oxfam said, for the world’s poorest people — who are more likely to be women and marginalized groups in every society — “daily life has become more brutal” since 2019. It pointed to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as “escalating conflict, the acceleration of the climate crisis and surging costs of living.” The report also said that globally, men own $105 trillion more than women — a difference in wealth equivalent to more than four times the size of the U.S. economy. Oxfam urged governments worldwide to adopt caps on CEO salaries, along with permanent taxes on wealth and excess profits.

Is it just "no fun" being poor in Singapore? Tuesday, 31 January 2012 Singapore Democrats In an interview in Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the annual World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that "If you're poor in Singapore, it's no fun but I think you're less badly off if you're poor in Singapore than in nearly anywhere else in the world including the United States." Is that what he really thinks, that it is just "no fun" to be poor in Singapore? One can say that it is no fun visiting the dentist or getting caught in the rain without an umbrella. But no fun being poor? The statement shows a complete lack of comprehension of, or worse disregard for, the pain and hardship that those stricken by poverty have to endure on a daily basis. Even if he was speaking figuratively and euphemistically, which he was not, it is a jarringly insensitive way for a head of government to talk about the poor. After all, he is charged with the solemn responsibility of taking care of the people of whom the poor must count as priority (the rich don't need the Government's help). It reflects a blase and devil-make-care attitude. This is what must concern Singaporeans most. If the PM can make light of the crushing burden on the poor, our society is in a lot more trouble than we think. In the same sentence, Mr Lee tells us that our poor in Singapore are better off than the poor in other countries. Try telling that to Tan Jee Suan who killed himself by jumping in front of an on-coming train because he could not earn enough to feed his family. Try telling that to the thousands who like Tan take their own lives because they cannot cope with their desperate situations. Last year alone, 353 people committed suicide, that's nearly one person killing him or herself every day. Try telling that to the thousands who are unable to cope with poverty and as a consequence suffer mental breakdowns. One in ten Singaporeans are afflicted with mental illness, mainly from depression. Are they really better off than those in other countries? Is it really just