Davos 2015 - Richest 1% will own more than all the rest by 2016 - Winnie Byanyima

Davos  2015   -      Richest 1% will own more than all the rest by 2016  -  Winnie Byanyima

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam

Richest 1% will own more than all the rest by 2016 - Oxfam

Posted by Jon Slater Head of News

19th Jan 2015

The combined wealth of the richest 1 per cent will overtake that of the other 99 per cent of people next year unless the current trend of rising inequality is checked, Oxfam warned today ahead of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

The international agency, whose executive director Winnie Byanyima will co-chair the Davos event,  warned that the explosion in inequality is holding back the fight against global poverty at a time when 1 in 9 people do not have enough to eat and more than a billion people still live on less than $1.25-a-day.

Byanyima will use her position at Davos to call for urgent action to stem this rising tide of inequality, starting with a crackdown on tax dodging by corporations, and to push for progress towards a global deal on climate change.  

Wealth: Having it all and wanting more, a research paper published today by Oxfam, shows that the richest 1 per cent have seen their share of global wealth increase from 44 per cent in 2009 to 48 per cent in 2014 and at this rate will be more than 50 per cent in 2016. Members of this global elite had an average wealth of $2.7m per adult in 2014.

Of the remaining 52 per cent of global wealth, almost all (46 per cent) is owned by the rest of the richest fifth of the world's population. The other 80 per cent share just 5.5 per cent and had an average wealth of $3,851 per adult - that's 1/700^th of the average wealth of the 1 per cent.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, said: "Do we really want to live in a world where the one per cent own more than the rest of us combined? The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering and despite the issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast.  

"In the past 12 months we have seen world leaders from President Obama to Christine Lagarde talk more about tackling extreme inequality but we are still waiting for many of them to walk the walk. It is time our leaders took on the powerful vested interests that stand in the way of a fairer and more prosperous world.  

 "Business as usual for the elite isn't a cost free option - failure to tackle inequality will set the fight against poverty back decades. The poor are hurt twice by rising inequality - they get a smaller share of the economic pie and because extreme inequality hurts growth, there is less pie to be shared around."

Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Chief Executive Officer of EL Rothschild and chairman of the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism, who is speaking at a joint Oxfam-University of Oxford event on inequality today, called on business leaders meeting in Davos to play their part in tackling extreme inequality.

She said: "Oxfam's report is just the latest evidence that inequality has reached shocking extremes, and continues to grow. It is time for the global leaders of modern capitalism, in addition to our politicians, to work to change the system to make it more inclusive, more equitable and more sustainable. 

"Extreme inequality isn't just a moral wrong. It undermines economic growth and it threatens the private sector's bottom line.  All those gathering at Davos who want a stable and prosperous world should make tackling inequality a top priority."Oxfam made headlines at Davos last year with the revelation that the 85 richest people on the planet have the same wealth as the poorest 50 per cent (3.5 billion people). That figure is now 80 - a dramatic fall from 388 people in 2010. The wealth of the richest 80 doubled in cash terms between 2009-14.

The international agency is calling on governments to adopt a seven point plan to tackle inequality:

• Clamp down on tax dodging by corporations and rich individuals
• Invest in universal, free public services such as health and education
• Share the tax burden fairly, shifting taxation from labour and consumption towards    capital and wealth
• Introduce minimum wages and move towards a living wage for all workers
• Introduce equal pay legislation and promote economic policies to give women a fair deal
• Ensure adequate safety-nets for the poorest, including a minimum income guarantee
• Agree a global goal to tackle inequality.

 Today's research paper, which follows the October launch of Oxfam's global Even It Up campaign,  shines a light on the way extreme wealth is passed down the generations and how elite groups mobilise their vast resources to ensure global rules are favourable towards their interests. More than a third of the 1645 billionaires listed by Forbes inherited some or all of their riches.

Twenty per cent of billionaires have interests in the financial and insurance sectors, a group which saw their cash wealth increase by 11 per cent in the 12 months to March 2014. These sectors spent $550m lobbying policy makers in Washington and Brussels during 2013. During the 2012 US election cycle alone, the financial sector provided $571m in campaign contributions.

Billionaires listed as having interests in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors saw their collective net worth increase by 47 per cent. During 2013, they spent more than $500m lobbying policy makers in Washington and Brussels.

Oxfam is concerned that the lobbying power of these sectors is a major barrier in the way of reforming the global tax system and of ensuring intellectual property rules do not lead to the world's poorest being denied life saving medicines.

There is increasing evidence from the International Monetary Fund, among others, that extreme inequality is not just bad news for those at the bottom but also damages economic growth.

Oxfam will today hold a joint symposium Rising Inequality in the Global South with Oxford University. Speakers include Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank and Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild.

Ends/

For further information or to arrange an interview: Jon Slater 07876 476403 / jslater@oxfam.org.uk or Lucy Brinicombe 07786110054 / lbrinicombe@oxfam.org.uk

Notes to editors:

Wealth: Having it all and wanting more will be available at http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/wealth-having-it-all-and-wanting-more-338125

Wealth of 1%, 50%, 80% and 99% taken from Credit Suisse Global Wealth Datebook (2013 and 2014)https://www.credit-suisse.com/uk/en/news-and-expertise/research/credit-suisse-research-institute/publications.html Projection of 1 per cent wealth for 2016 calculated by Oxfam based on that data.

The wealth of the richest 80 was calculated using Forbes' billionaires list http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/Annual data taken from list published in March.

Credit Suisse made changes to its methodology between 2013 and 2014. Using this new methodology, last year's '85' would have been '92'. That means that the number of billionaires who have the same wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion has fallen from 90 to 80 in the last 12 months.

Details of Oxfam's Even It Up campaign can be found at oxfam.org//en/campaigns/even-it-up

Oxfam calls on big food, drink firms to stop conflicts over land

BY ADMIN IN AFRICA · OCTOBER 2, 2013 · COMMENTS OFF

PANA

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – The biggest names in the food and drink industry are not doing enough to stop land grabs and conflicts in their supply chains, said international agency Oxfam in a new report published Wednesday.

The report, “Sugar Rush: Land rights and the supply chains of the biggest food and beverage companies”, highlights examples of land grabs and disputes linked to companies that supply sugar for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo products, and allegations of disputes inside Associated British Foods’ supply chain.

The global sugar trade is worth about US$ 47 billion; the world produced 176 million tons of sugar last year; the food and drinks industry accounts for more half of it; and sugar production is predicted to increase by 25 percent by 2020.

While the increasing appetite for sugar has health advocates ringing alarm bells, Oxfam said it has largely gone unnoticed that the sugar trade is also helping to fuel the problem of land grabs and disputes.

At least 31 million hectares, an area the size of Italy, is already being used to grow sugar, much of it in the developing world.

Land grabs are big deals where local communities that rely on the land are evicted without consent or compensation.

Oxfam’s ‘Behind the Brands’ campaign says that the world’s 10 biggest food and drink companies lack strong enough policies to stop land grabs and disputes from featuring in their supply chains.

“Sugar is already linked to serious health issues. It also lies at the heart of the bitter problem of land grabs”, said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam. “Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Associated British Foods are the world’s biggest producers and buyers of sugar but they are doing little to ensure the sugar in their products is not grown on land grabbed from poor communities.”

“The people who love their products expect better. We are calling on them to join us in demanding that Coke, Pepsi and Associated British Foods act now to stamp out land grabs. These three companies have a huge amount of power and influence. If they act they could transform the industry,” she said.

Oxfam claimed it had evidence of land grabs and conflicts in Cambodia and Brazil.

In addition, the agency said that Associated British Foods (ABF), through their ownership of Illovo, Africa’s biggest producer of sugar cane, has also been linked in media reports to land conflicts in Mali, Zambia and Malawi.

Calling on Coca Cola, PepsiCo and ABF to commit to zero tolerance of land grabs throughout their supply chains, Oxfam added that they should publicly disclose who and where they source their commodities, publish assessments about how the sugar they purchase affects local communities’ land rights, and use their power to encourage governments and the wider food industry to respect land rights.

All three companies scored poorly or very poorly on their land policies in Oxfam’s Behind the Brands scorecard.

In another paper on the sugar rush, also released Wednesday, Oxfam said at least 4 million hectares of land have been acquired for sugar production in 100 large-scale land deals since 2000.

This paper sets out how one crop – sugar – has been driving large-scale land acquisitions and land conflicts at the expense of small-scale food producers and their families.

In some cases, these acquisitions have been linked to human rights violations, loss of livelihoods, and hunger for small-scale food producers and their families.

Major food and beverage companies rarely own land, but they depend on it for the crops they buy, including sugar.

“These companies must urgently recognize this problem, and take steps to ensure that land rights violations and conflicts are not part of their supply chains,” the paper said.

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