The combined wealth of the 10 billionaires in the pandemic increased by $540bn (£400bn), according to Oxfam.
The charity claims this amount would be enough to prevent the world from falling into poverty due to the virus, and to pay for vaccines for everyone. In addition to this, he urges governments to consider the possibility of applying taxes to the super-rich.
The Oxfam report
Oxfam's report comes as world leaders meet virtually for the World Economic Forum's "Davos Dialogue."
In December 2020, the total wealth of billionaires around the world reached $11.95 trillion, equivalent to the recovery spending of all G20 governments combined, according to the charity.
Among the 10 richest people, whose fortunes have increased by $540 billion since March 2020, are Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla founder Elon Musk, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
10 billionaires in the pandemic who earned enough to vaccinate everyone
Oxfam claims that Ecuador Mobile Number List billionaires' fortunes rose due to a rally in stock markets and a " rigged economy ", leading to rising inequality during the " worst economic downturn in a century ".
Many tech giants saw their sales – and share prices – rise in 2020 as lockdowns led to a surge in demand for digital services.
This inflated the wealth of men like Mr Bezos, whose gigantic fortunes are driven by the value of holdings, such as the property and stocks they own, rather than salaries.
However, “wealth” does not equal income. Wealth estimates refer to an individual's net worth, including his money, the value of his assets, and also the "notional" value of the shares he owns. A rise in stock price refers to the perceived net value of a company as a whole, and not of the shareholders themselves.
Living in poverty in contrast to billionaires in the pandemic
The report says Bezos' worth has risen so much between March and September 2020 that he could have given Amazon's 876,000 employees a $105,000 bonus and still be as rich as he was before the pandemic.
Compared to the world's poorest, for whom economic recovery could take more than a decade. Oxfam estimates that between 200 and 500 million additional people will live in poverty in 2020, reversing the decline in global poverty seen over the past two decades.
We believe that this is an opportunity to do something radical about rebuilding a more just system that includes taxes for wealth, to think about taxes on corporations, to think about increasing the basic social floor for each citizen.
Danny Sriskandarajah, executive director of Oxfam.
Referring to the UK, he said imposing a tax could raise millions.
Are the richest in the world doing their bit?
Yes, some do. Since the start of the pandemic there have been a relatively high number of charitable mega-donations, with celebrities, sports stars and business leaders responding to the COVID-19 emergency.
In a report in October, UBS said 209 billionaires had committed a total equivalent to $7.2 billion between March and June 2020 to fight Covid-19.
They have reacted quickly, in a manner similar to disaster relief, providing unrestricted grants to allow recipients to decide how best to use the funds.
Report.
Contributions
Last month, MacKenzie Scott , Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, revealed that she had donated more than $4 billion to food banks and emergency relief funds in four months. In a blog post, Ms. Scott said she wanted to help Americans who were struggling due to the pandemic.