The world could get its first trillionaire within 10 years
The world is witnessing an unprecedented concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few individuals, who are on track to become the first trillionaires in history.
According to a report by Oxfam International, an anti-poverty organization, the fortunes of the five richest men in the world have increased by 114% since 2020, while nearly 5 billion people have become poorer due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The report, titled Inequality Inc., predicts that the world could see its first trillionaire within the next decade, if the current trends continue.
A trillionaire is someone who has a thousand billion dollars, or a million million dollars.
To put this in perspective, a trillionaire would have the same value as oil-rich Saudi Arabia, or more than the combined GDP of the 85 poorest countries in the world.
The report identifies Tesla CEO Elon Musk as the most likely candidate to reach the trillion-dollar milestone, as he is currently the richest person on the planet, with a net worth of about $245.5 billion.
Musk's wealth has skyrocketed by more than 900% since 2020, thanks to the soaring value of his electric car company and his other ventures, such as SpaceX and Neuralink.
Other contenders for the title of the first trillionaire include LVMH founder Bernard Arnault, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, who collectively have a wealth of about $869 billion.
These billionaires have benefited from their dominant positions in various sectors, such as e-commerce, luxury, software, and investment, and have exploited their influence to avoid taxes, suppress workers' rights, privatize public services, and exacerbate climate change, according to Oxfam.
The report warns that the extreme inequality between the super-rich and the rest of the world is not only unjust, but also unsustainable and dangerous. It argues that the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few undermines democracy, fuels social unrest, deepens poverty, and hampers the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis.
Oxfam calls for urgent action from governments to curb the power of billionaires and corporations, and to ensure a fair and inclusive recovery from the pandemic.
Some of the measures proposed by the organization include imposing a wealth tax on the richest individuals, strengthening labor rights and minimum wages, investing in public services and social protection, and ensuring a green and just transition to a low-carbon economy.
In the foreword of the report, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, a vocal critic of the billionaire class, writes that "never before have we seen this unprecedented level of greed, arrogance and irresponsibility on the part of the ruling class" and that "if we stand together in our common humanity, there are enormous opportunities in front of us to create a better life for all" .
