Not a joke- 58% of wealth in India is owned by 1% !

Unequal distribution of wealth was always there, but the degree of inequality is shocking by even global standards.

A study released by rights group Oxfam on Monday, ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos tells it all. India’s richest 1 per cent now hold a huge 58 per cent of the country’s total wealth — higher than the global figure of about 50 per cent. Oxfam is a anti-poverty organization and it released these reports to coincide with the annual gathering of the global business elites in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

Our own Indian billionaires ,led by Mukesh Ambani

The study said there are 84 billionaires in India, with a collective wealth of USD 248 billion, led by Mukesh Ambani (USD 19.3 billion), Dilip Shanghvi (USD 16.7 billion) and Azim Premji (USD 15 billion). The total Indian wealth in the country stood at USD 3.1 trillion.

The billionaires of U.S, led by Bill Gates

The total global wealth in the year was USD 255.7 trillion, of which about USD 6.5 trillion was held by billionaires, led by Bill Gates (USD 75 billion), Amancio Ortega (USD 67 billion) and Warren Buffett (USD 60.8 billion).

‘An economy for the 99 per cent’

The report is aptly titled, ‘An economy for the 99 per cent’ and is now talking about inclusive growth. High time! It said that since 2015, the richest 1 per cent has owned more wealth than the rest of the planet.

“Over the next 20 years, 500 people will hand over USD 2.1 trillion to their heirs — a sum larger than the GDP of India, a country of 1.3 billion people,” Oxfam said. “It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few when 1 in 10 people survive on less than $2 a day,” said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International, who will be attending the meeting in Davos. “Inequality is trapping hundreds of millions in poverty; it is fracturing our societies and undermining democracy.”

The study only proves what has been visible for many years- the poor are becoming poorer and the rich are becoming richer. For all their rhetoric on working for the upliftment of the poor, our leaders are only contributing to this phenomenon. One fact remains at the end of 2 months of demonetisation- these super rich Indians were never seen to suffer, stand in queues or even bat an eyelid. They continue to live their lavish lifestyles in the midst of untold suffering by common man.

-UDAAN