Oxfam study reveals extreme inequality

Eight billionaires - including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, textile entrepreneur Amancio Ortega and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg - possess more wealth than the poorer half of the world's population. The gap between poor and rich is wider than ever before, according to Oxfam's 2017 report on inequality. Journalists come to different conclusions based on the report.

Open/close all quotes
The Independent (GB) /

No one bothered by unfairness when they vote

For all the criticism of global inequalities, many people in the West voted precisely for those who represent or who want to strengthen this very system, The Independent writes in astonishment:

“That is most obviously true in the US, where the non-self-made billionaire Donald Trump has given hope to many that he can build a fairer and greater America - despite all the evidence suggesting he is as close to understanding real people as he is to releasing his tax returns.”

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (DE) /

Don't just condemn the super-rich

Criticism should be levelled not at the immense assets of the rich but at the extreme poverty at the other end of the scale, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung finds:

“Oxfam is focussing attention on the rich. Eight men are in the spotlight. But is their wealth abominable or morally reprehensible? Most of those at the top of the Forbes list have acquired their wealth through entrepreneurial activities in states governed by the rule of law and free market economies. Their success is based on the products they develop, which millions of customers want to buy. … The real scandal is that there are several billion people on this planet who have practically nothing, above all in Africa, parts of Asia and Latin America. They are not participating in the wealth. Oxfam should condemn the regimes that with misguided policies keep their people in a state of poverty and exploit them. It is they who are responsible for the underdevelopment and lack of prospects.”