The research indicates that in addition to the pharmaceutical sector, the energy and food sectors have increased by 453,000 million dollars in the last two years. In the case of energy, 62 new billionaires emerged during the pandemic.
The work details that the wealth of millionaires increased more in the two years of the pandemic than in 1987 and 2010.
“For the billionaires, the pandemic as well as the conflict in Ukraine and the spectacular increase in food and energy prices are assuming a period of prosperity. And this reality contrasts with a clear setback in the achievements of the last decades in the fight against extreme poverty at a global level”, said Iñigo Macías, head of research at Oxfam Intermón.
The report points out that the total wealth currently accumulated by these billionaires is equivalent to 13.9% of world GDP. The contrast, according to Macías, is that while the rich are getting richer, globally the working conditions of workers have not yet recovered from the hard blow of the pandemic.
“(…) millions of people are forced to skip meals, turn off the heating, delay paying bills and wonder what else they can do to get ahead,” he adds.
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