Those who belong in the world's top one percent own half of the world's wealth while the remaining half is distributed to the rest of the 99 percent. If the unequal distribution of wealth continues, those who belong in the top will end up owning more that half of the world's wealth by next year, according to Oxfam.
There are only 62 billionaires in the richest one percent while there are 3.6 billion people who comprise the 99 percent at the bottom, according to Oxfam's U.K. Head, Nick Bryer, The Guardian reported.
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The individuals who belong to the richest one percent have protected interests that mostly lean on economic activities, the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare that they protect through tax policies, according to Oxfam's study "Wealth: Having It All And Wanting More." The study revealed that in 2010, there were 388 people who owned half of the world's wealth but it plummeted down to 80 individuals by 2014.
Oxfam's executive director, Winnie Byanyima, calls for action regarding the continuing inequality. "Do we really want to live in a world where the one percent 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," Byanyima said, according to Oxfam.
"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," she added.
The study has been published before the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland takes place on Wednesday.
