A report by Oxfam stated that the wealth of the ten richest men in the world more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the charity, these men, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates, increased their wealth by about $700 billion, reaching a total of $1.5 trillion. Elon Musk's wealth increased by approximately 1,000%, while Bill Gates's wealth only rose by 30%.
Oxfam added that the profits of these billionaires since the start of the pandemic made them six times richer than the world's poorest 3.1 billion people. The organization highlighted that since March 2020, the world has seen the emergence of a new billionaire almost every day, as reported by The Independent.
Based on figures from the 2021 Forbes Billionaires List, Credit Suisse, and the World Bank, it is estimated that 160 million people were forced into poverty during the pandemic. Oxfam urged governments to impose a one-time 99% tax on the world's billionaires and to use the funds to finance vaccine production for poor countries.
The organization stated that such a tax could generate over $800 billion, which could be directed towards vaccination campaigns and other pandemic-related social spending. Oxfam also appealed to wealthy countries to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines in order to expand production.
