Khaberni - The number of billionaires in the world continues to rise and their fortunes are growing at an accelerated pace, according to a report published by the Oxfam organization before the start of the World Economic Forum today.
Oxfam, the organization concerned with poverty alleviation and development, said that about 3,000 billionaires in the world owned a combined wealth of $18.3 trillion last year.
After adjusting for inflation, their wealth has increased by over 80% since March 2020. Meanwhile, nearly half of the world's population still lives in poverty, according to Oxfam.
The report is based on data from multiple sources, including Forbes' estimates of billionaire wealth, World Bank figures, and the Global Wealth Report issued by UBS.
Oxfam mentioned that billionaires' fortunes grew by about 16% last year, which is triple the average growth rate in previous years. The wealthiest 12 individuals in the world now possess more wealth than the poorer half of the world's population, that is, over 4 billion people.
Oxfam noted that the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, earns in four seconds what the average person earns in a full year. It calculated that Musk would have to donate over $4,500 every second for his wealth to start shrinking.
Billionaires earn an average of $6,000 during a short nap lasting 20 minutes, and $145,000 during an eight-hour night's sleep.
About 65 world leaders are scheduled to participate in this year’s forum in Davos, Switzerland, a record number, along with dozens of central bank presidents and finance ministers, as well as business tycoons.
