The world&#8217;s billionaires have more wealth than 4.6 billion people and the world&#8217;s richest 1% own more than double the wealth of 6.9 billion people.



Those are the latest figures on global inequality from a report released on Monday ahead of an annual meeting of global elites in the mountain resort of Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.&nbsp;



As at least some of the world&#8217;s 2,153 billionaires rub noses at the World Economic Forum this week, others will be working to communicate another message: the complicity of the global elite in wealth inequality.&nbsp;



The report by the international aid organisation Oxfam states that the number of billionaires has doubled in the last decade.



&#8220;Our broken economies are lining the pockets of billionaires and big business at the expense of ordinary men and women. No wonder people are starting to question whether billionaires should even exist,&#8221; said Amitabh Behar, the CEO of Oxfam India who will be present at Davos.



&#8220;[Inequality is at the] heart of fractures and social conflicts all over the world, and no one is fooled,&#8221; said Pauline Leclère, Oxfam France&#8217;s senior campaigner for tax justice and inequalities.&nbsp;



&#8220;Inequality is not someone&#8217;s fate. It is the result of social and fiscal policy that reduces the participation of the wealthy [through taxes] and weakens funding for public services.&#8221;&nbsp;



Leclère said this is the message that Oxfam will be trying to deliver at Davos.



The non-profit organisation has released an annual report ahead of the famous economic meeting to address mounting inequality since 2014.&nbsp;



<h4>Gender divide</h4>



This year, Oxfam examined the gender divide as well, highlighting that men worldwide own 50% more wealth than women due to a &#8220;sexist and unfair economic system&#8221;.&nbsp;



The 22 richest men in the world have more wealth than all the women in Africa, the report said.



Women often work in sectors that are more insecure and less valued economically, the Oxfam report states.&nbsp;



They do more than 75% of unpaid care work and make up two-thirds of the &#8220;care workforce&#8221; in nursery and domestic jobs.&nbsp;



&#8220;Women and girls are among those who benefit least from today&#8217;s economic system,&#8221; said Behar.&nbsp;



<h4>Few changes in inequality</h4>



But overall, their conclusions on inequality remain unchanged.



&#8220;Unfortunately, the organisation&#8217;s conclusion is the same. Inequality continues to rise in extreme proportions,&#8221; Leclère told Euronews, adding that inequality is bad for economies.&nbsp;



Indeed, the director of the International Monetary Fund said at a conference in Washington DC last week that although inequality between countries was decreasing, inside many high-income countries, inequality is growing.&nbsp;



&#8220;The gap between rich and poor can&#8217;t be resolved without deliberate inequality-busting policies, and too few governments are committed to these,&#8221; said Behar.



Though members of civil society say they&#8217;re looking to receive concrete results from Davos, they know it&#8217;s an uphill battle.



Leclère says NGO members aren&#8217;t &#8220;fooled&#8221; by the events&#8217; big, lofty political speeches. &#8220;We&#8217;re waiting for them to follow up with action.&#8221;

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World’s billionaires have more wealth than 4.6 billion people, report says ahead of Davos

<div class="voa-content">This year&#8217;s World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland, has notable absentees &#8211; including U.S. President Donald Trump. With a backlash against a perceived ruling elite gaining ground in many countries, some leaders are steering clear of a gathering often seen as an inaccessible club for the world&#8217;s super-rich. But defenders of the annual meeting say it is a vital venue to exchange ideas and discuss urgent issues like climate change, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/deserting-davos-leaders-stay-home-amid-domestic-troubles-anti-globalist-backlash/4757471.html">reports</a> VOA News.</div>

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Deserting Davos: Leaders Stay Home Amid Domestic Troubles, Anti-Globalist Backlash

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International tensions and nationalist politics can further weigh on the global economy this year and hinder efforts to deal with big issues such as climate change, the organizers of next week&#8217;s Davos forum warned Wednesday, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/world-economic-forum-warns-of-impact-of-global-tensions/4745733.html">reports</a> VOA News.
In its annual Global Risks Report, the World Economic Forum said the world is evolving into &#8220;a period of divergence following a period of globalization.&#8221; A &#8220;darkening&#8221; economic outlook, in part fostered by geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, &#8220;looks set to further reduce the potential for international cooperation in 2019,&#8221; it said.
&#8220;With global trade and economic growth at risk in 2019, there is a more urgent need than ever to renew the architecture of international cooperation,&#8221; said Borge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum, which hosts an annual gathering of business and political leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
&#8220;We simply do not have the gunpowder to deal with the kind of slowdown that current dynamics might lead us towards,&#8221; he added.
In 2018, the global economy slowed more than most experts had predicted and stock markets posted their worst year in a decade. Much of that has been blamed on the standoff between the U.S. and China over trade that has led to both sides imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions worth of goods.
The report, which is based on the views of around 1,000 experts and decision-makers from around the world, found that 88 percent of respondents expect a &#8220;further erosion&#8221; of global trading rules and agreements that will hold back growth.
The U.S.-China relations will be one of the main talking points at next week&#8217;s gathering in Davos, with a number of high level representatives from each side due to attend, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and China&#8217;s vice president, Wang Qishan. Britain&#8217;s upcoming exit from the European Union will be another key issue after British lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected the Brexit deal Prime Minister Theresa May had negotiated with the EU.
The 2016 vote to leave the EU had been driven in large part by a belief that Brexit would restore decision-making powers to Britain. U.S. President Donald Trump has used similar justifications to employ his America First&#8221; policies on a range of international issues, such as climate change.
One area identified as being affected by the more fractured geopolitical environment is the need to modernize critical infrastructure projects around the world, such as roads, bridges and power networks, firstly and foremost to avoid accidents such as the collapse of a bridge in Genoa, Italy, last summer that killed 43 people.
John Drzik, President of Global Risk and Digital at Marsh, which helped with the preparation of the report, said the &#8220;more protectionist economic environment&#8221; is increasing costs and causing delays. The introduction of steel tariffs by the United States, he noted, raised the costs of an infrastructure project in Detroit by approximately 13 percent.
&#8220;Persistent underfunding of critical infrastructure worldwide is hampering economic progress, leaving businesses and communities more vulnerable both to cyberattacks and natural catastrophes, and failing to make the most of technological innovation,&#8221; he said.
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