LONDON — Oxfam International says the richest 1 percent of the population will own more than half the world’s wealth by 2016.
In a report released Monday as the World Economic Forum begins in Davos, Switzerland, Oxfam says the world’s richest people saw their share of global wealth jump to 48 percent last year from 44 percent in 2009. The organization is warning that rising inequality is holding back the fight against global poverty.
Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam’s executive director, says while world leaders ranging from President Barack Obama to International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde have talked about tackling the world’s extreme economic inequality, “we are still waiting for many of them to walk the walk.”
Byanyima says despite inequality being on the global agenda, the gap is widening fast.
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