Image: FABRICE COFFRINI (APA/AFP/FABRICE COFFRINI)
Just in time for the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where political and business leaders meet, the development aid organization Oxfam published its view on the distribution of wealth in the world and linked this to the call for global wealth taxes. However, there is professional criticism of Oxfam’s calculation methods.
Oxfam writes that the rich are getting richer and proves this with the assets of the five richest people in the world. Their assets have more than doubled since March 2020 and now amount to $869 billion. In contrast, the wealth of the poorer 60 percent of the world fell during this period. Oxfam proposes a progressive model of wealth taxes.
“Arbitrarily calculated”
The liberal think tank Agenda Austria criticizes Oxfam’s actions as very questionable. The period between spring 2020 (low point in share prices) and the end of 2023 was chosen arbitrarily in order to represent the greatest possible growth. Elon Musk’s assets accounted for 70 percent of this, while Bill Gates even suffered real losses. Finally, the investigations were based on estimates from various sources.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2,800 participants, including 60 heads of state and government, deliberated. Topics include Ukraine and the climate crisis, rising costs of living and artificial intelligence.
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