Billionaires’ Absurd and Growing Wealth Undercuts Democracy
The obscene wealth of the world's billionaires doesn't just mean they get to lead lives of luxury. It also means they have almost complete control of the economy — control that is fundamentally undemocratic and unjust.
When measuring the scale of Jeff Bezos’s wealth, we’re not just looking at how rich he is — we’re also looking at how powerful he is. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
Oxfam’s most recent report on global wealth inequality paints a grim picture of the changes that have taken place in the world economy over the course of the pandemic.
According to research from the charity, the world’s ten richest men doubled their wealth over the course of the past year, meaning they earned the equivalent of $1.3 billion per day.
To put this figure in context, consider these illustrations of the difference between a million and a billion. If you were to count the numbers to a million it would take you twelve days; but if you were to count the numbers to a billion it would take you thirty-two years. If you were to spend a million dollars in a year, you’d have to spend roughly $2,700 per day; to spend a billion dollars in a year, you’d have to spend roughly $2.7 million per day.
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