• Fortunes of five richest men have shot up by 114 percent since 2020.
• Oxfam predicts the world could have its first-ever trillionaire in just a decade while it would take more than two centuries to end poverty.
• The top 1 percent own 43 percent of all global financial assets. They hold 50 percent in Asia.
• 148 top corporations made US$1.8 trillion in profits, 52 percent up on 3-year average, and dished out huge payouts to rich shareholders while hundreds of millions faced cuts in real-term pay.
• Oxfam urges a new era of public action, including public services, corporate regulation, breaking up monopolies and enacting permanent wealth and excess profit taxes.

The world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes from US$405 billion to US$869 billion since 2020 —at a rate of US$14 million per hour— while nearly 5 billion people have been made poorer, reveals a new Oxfam report on inequality and global corporate power. If current trends continue, the world will have its first trillionaire within a decade but poverty won’t be eradicated for another 229 years.

“Inequality Inc.”, published today as business elites gather in the Swiss resort town of Davos, reveals that seven out of ten of the world’s biggest corporations have a billionaire as CEO or principal shareholder. These corporations are worth US$10.2 trillion, equivalent to more than the combined GDPs of all countries in Africa and Latin America.

“We’re witnessing the beginnings of a decade of division, with billions of people shouldering the economic shockwaves of pandemic, inflation and war, while billionaires’ fortunes boom. This inequality is no accident; the billionaire class is ensuring corporations deliver more wealth to them at the expense of everyone else,” said Oxfam International interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

In Hong Kong, Oxfam has also observed of a widening wealth gap since the pandemic outbreak. According to Oxfam’s recent report “Hong Kong Poverty Report 2023: A Polarised Recovery in the Post-Pandemic Era”, it revealed that the overall poverty rate reached 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, with over 1.36 million people living in poverty. Comparing the median monthly incomes of the richest and poorest households pre- and post-pandemic, the report found that the poorest decile made 57.7 times less than the richest decile in the first quarter of 2023 – an increase from 34.3 times in 2019.  This indicates a polarized recovery with disparities between low and high-income families despite social normalization.

Kalina Tsang, Director General of Oxfam Hong Kong, said: ‘It is of concern to see inequality continue to widen even as Hong Kong recovers from the pandemic. The government must take urgent action to address the growing wealth gap and improve protections for low-income workers, even under financial pressure. The 2024-25 Budget will be launched next month. Oxfam Hong Kong is calling on the government to annually adjust the minimum wage to ensure basic living standards and to partner with businesses and NGOs to invest in poverty alleviation projects.’

‘In addition, Oxfam Hong Kong launched a new Living Wage Charter in 2023 to encourage employers to pay all employees a living wage of HK$60.1 or above. This aims to ensure employees can meet both their own and their families’ basic needs, as well as help address labour shortages. We suggest that the government announce the living wage level every year so that employers are aware of this and can choose to pay grassroots workers a living wage. As the largest employer in Hong Kong, the government should lead by example and pay a living wage to outsourced workers. Regarding the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure, we also urge The Hong Kong Stock Exchange to make ‘Social’ disclosure mandatory in ESG reporting, and add living wage reporting.’ said Kalina.

Across the globe, the past three years’ supercharged surge in extreme wealth has solidified while global poverty remains mired at pre-pandemic levels. Billionaires are US$3.3 trillion richer than in 2020, and their wealth has grown three times faster than the rate of inflation.

• Despite representing just 21 percent of the global population, rich countries in the Global North own 69 percent of global wealth and are home to 74 percent of the world’s billionaire wealth.
• Share ownership overwhelmingly benefits the richest. The top 1 percent own 43 percent of all global financial assets. They hold 48 percent of financial wealth in the Middle East, 50 percent in Asia and 47 percent in Europe.

Mirroring the fortunes of the super-rich, large firms are set to smash their annual profit records in 2023. 148 of the world’s biggest corporations together raked in US$1.8 trillion in total net profits in the year to June 2023, a 52 percent jump compared to average net profits in 2018-2021. Their windfall profits surged to nearly US$700 billion. The report finds that for every US$100 of profit made by 96 major corporations between July 2022 and June 2023, US$82 was paid out to rich shareholders.

People worldwide are working harder and longer hours, often for poverty wages in precarious and unsafe jobs. The wages of nearly 800 million workers have failed to keep up with inflation and they have lost US$1.5 trillion over the last two years, equivalent to nearly a month (25 days) of lost wages for each worker.

New Oxfam analysis of World Benchmarking Alliance data on more than 1,600 of the largest corporations worldwide shows that 0.4 percent of them are publicly committed to paying workers a living wage and support a living wage in their value chains.

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About Oxfam Hong Kong

Oxfam is a global organisation committed to creating a world without poverty through its advocacy, development and humanitarian work.

For Media Enquiries:

Emily Wong 
Communications Manager
Tel: (852) 3120 5280/ 6211 2266
Email: emily.wong@oxfam.org.hk

Natalie Kei
Senior Communications Officer
Tel: (852) 3120 5257/ 6939 1864
Email: natalie.kei@oxfam.org.hk