Pandemic Created 1 New Billionaire Every 30 Hours, Now Millions Could Face 'Extreme' Poverty

For every new billionaire created during the pandemic - one every 30 hours - nearly a million people could be pushed into extreme poverty in 2022 at nearly the same rate, reveals a new Oxfam brief May 23.

"Billionaires are arriving in Davos to celebrate an incredible surge in their fortunes. The pandemic and now the steep increases in food and energy prices have, simply put, been a bonanza for them. Meanwhile, decades of progress on extreme poverty are now in reverse and millions of people are facing impossible rises in the cost of simply staying alive," said Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director of Oxfam International.

The brief shows that 573 people became new billionaires during the pandemic, at the rate of one every 30 hours.

The fortunes of food and energy billionaires have risen by $453 billion in the last two years, equivalent to $1 billion every two days.

Five of the largest energy companies are together making $2,600 profit every second, and there are now 62 new food billionaires.

The pandemic has created 40 new pharma billionaires.

"Over two years since the pandemic began, after more than 20 million estimated deaths from COVID-19 and widespread economic destruction, government leaders in Davos face a choice: act as proxies for the billionaire class who plunder their economies, or take bold steps to act in the interests of their great majorities."

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/pandemic-billionaires-inflation-poverty/