Australian: the epidemic has doubled the capital of billionaires
The richest people in Australia have effectively doubled their
collective wealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, earning an
eye-watering $205 million a day over two years
(
https://bit.ly/3FEGKjv).
That is according to a new report by global anti-poverty charity
Oxfam that claimed the 47 billionaires in Australia doubled their
collective wealth during the pandemic to a combined $255 billion.
When broken down over two years, that equates to the 47 billionaires
earning $205 million a day or $2376 every second of the global
crisis.
As a result, there is now more wealth in possession of 47 Australian
billionaires than there is in the poorest 30 per cent of residents,
estimated to be around 7.7 million people.
Oxfam Australia's Chief Executive Lyn Morgain said the divide
between the megarich and poor has blown out during the global
crisis.
"The record-breaking nature of the growth in their wealth means
that while many have been pushed to the brink, billionaires have
had a terrific pandemic," Ms Morgain said.
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart remains Australia's richest person
with an estimated personal net worth of more than $22 billion,
followed by software entrepreneurs Mike Cannon-Brookes and
Scott Farquhar each with a shade over $19.5 billion, according to
Oxfam estimates.
A full list of Australia's top 10 billionaires as estimated by Oxfam
can be found below.
The report also dealt with wealth on a global scale, finding that
the world's ten richest men including current top spot holder
Elon Musk made a collective $1.6 billion a day during the
pandemic or $18,750 per second.
If those top 10 richest men were to lose 99.9 per cent of their
wealth, they would still be richer than 99 per cent of all people
on Earth.
Ms Morgain blamed Australia's economic landscape for the
widening divide between rich and poor, arguing the system enables
the uber-rich to more easily grow their wealth.
"Inequality at such pace and scale is happening by choice, not
chance," she said.
Mirroring a growing movement in the United States, Ms Morgain
called for a "wealth tax" that would see higher tax rates imposed
on the ultra-rich.
"It's time for the Australian Government to take this issue
seriously and take action to close the gap between the rich and
poor. We have calculated that an annual $30 billion wealth tax
would have a massive impact," she said.
"For example, it could cover close to half the cost of achieving
the World Health Organization's mid2022 vaccination goal for
lower income countries, helping protect all people, including
Australians, from further variants and preventing millions of people
around the world being pushed into greater hardship and poverty,"
AUSTRALIA TOP 10 RICHEST PEOPLE: OXFAM REPORT
1. Gina Rinehart - $22.2 Billion (Mining)
2. Mike Cannon-Brookes - $19.6 Billion (Software)
3. Scott Farquhar - $19.5 Billion (Software)
4. Andrew Forrest - $18.6 Billion (Mining)
5. Harry Triguboff - $10.1 Billion (Real estate)
6. Anthony Pratt - $10.0 Billion (Manufacturing)
7. John, Alan & Bruce Wilson - $6.6 Billion (Retail)
8. Melanie Perkins - $6.5 Billion (Software)
9. Cliff Obrecht - $6.5 Billion (Software)
