Oxfam Ireland: Skyrocketing inequality is leading to conflict, extremism, authoritarianism and fear

Oxfam has launched its landmark report, Resisting the Rule of the Rich, which demonstrates how the concentration of extreme wealth is driving an inequality emergency and eroding democracy. 

• Globally, the 12 richest billionaires own more wealth than the poorest half of humanity – over four billion people.
• The collective wealth of billionaires last year surged by $2.5 trillion.
• Billionaires are 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary people.
• Ireland’s 11 billionaires are wealthier than 3.5 million Irish people combined
• It would take 439 minutes (7.3 hrs) for the average Irish billionaire to make the average person’s annual income.
• 9 out of the top 10 social media companies in the world are owned by just 6 billionaires
• 8 of the top 10 AI companies are billionaire-run

“Ireland must side with people - at home and in the Global South, where 3.8 billion live in poverty and one in four faces hunger. We are calling on government to fairly tax the super-rich, to regulate big tech and to fight disinformation and hate online. In its global role, Ireland should push to cancel unsustainable debt and reform a global financial system that locks countries in poverty. 

“Since President Trump’s second inauguration last year, this trend has accelerated: fear is rising as life becomes less affordable, and billionaire-backed politics exploits that fear to silence and impoverish communities. Conflict is increasing as is the threat of further conflict as even now Europe itself is dealing with the threat of invasion or takeover. 

“Ireland can help lead the pushback. We must build a firewall between extreme wealth and power. At home though our tax code and through our upcoming EU Council Presidency, the Irish government can stand up against the concentrated power that threatens democracy itself”.

ENDS