Rich-poor divide grows in pandemic
The world’s poorest could take a decade to recover financially from the pandemic, but a report by Oxfam shows it took the world’s top 1,000 billionaires just nine months to recoup their fortunes as the crisis lays bare “the greatest rise in inequality since records began.” The combined wealth of the world’s billionaires grew by $3.9 trillion between mid-March and the end of December, helped by a rebound in stock markets. Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty doubled to more than 500 million, prompting calls for governments to address inequalities caused by the pandemic.