Indian billionaires increased their wealth by 35 per cent during COVID-19 pandemic

As the pandemic severely hit the economy leaving millions out of job the wealth of Indian billionaires increased by 35 per cent during the lockdown and by 90 per cent since 2009 to 4229 billion ranking India sixth after the US China Germany Russia and France a new report by Oxfam said on MondayThe 1000 richest people on the planet recouped their COVID19 losses within just nine months but it could take more than a decade for the worlds poorest to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic reveals the report titled The Inequality Virus published on the opening day of the World Economic Forums Davos AgendaIn fact the increase in wealth of the top 11 billionaires of India during the pandemic could sustain the NREGS scheme for 10 years or the health ministry for 10 years according to the Oxfam reportSince March as the government announced lockdown Indias top 100 billionaires saw their fortunes increase by Rs 1297 trillionThe money was enough to give every one of the 138 million poorest Indians a cheque for Rs 94045 eachWe stand to witness the greatest rise in inequality since records began The deep divide between the rich and poor is proving as deadly as the virus said Gabriela Bucher Executive Director of Oxfam InternationalRigged economies are funnelling wealth to a rich elite who are riding out the pandemic in luxury while those on the frontline of the pandemic shop assistants healthcare workers and market vendors are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the tableWorldwide billionaires saw their wealth increase by a staggering 39 trillion between March 18 and December 31 2020Their total wealth now stands at 1195 trillion which is equivalent to what G20 governments have spent in response to the pandemicOnly three of the 50 richest billionaires in the world saw their fortunes diminish over that period losing 3 billion between themElon Musk increased his net wealth by 1289bn Jeff Bezos by 782 billion The worlds 10 richest billionaires have collectively seen their wealth increase by 540bn over this period the report mentionedThe report showed that COVID19 has the potential to increase economic inequality in almost every country at once the first time this has happened since records began over a century agoRising inequality means it could take at least 14 times longer for the number of people living in poverty to return to prepandemic levels than it took for the fortunes of the top 1000 mostly White male billionaires to bounce back the findings showedOxfams report showed how the rigged economic system is enabling a superrich elite to amass wealth in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression while billions of people are struggling to make ends meetIt revealed how the pandemic is deepening longstanding economic racial and gender dividesWomen and marginalized racial and ethnic groups are bearing the brunt of this crisis They are more likely to be pushed into poverty more likely to go hungry and more likely to be excluded from healthcare said BucherWomen are hardest hit yet againGlobally women are overrepresented in the lowpaid precarious professions that have been hardest hit by the pandemic If women were represented at the same rate as men in these sectors 112 million women would no longer be at high risk of losing their incomes or jobs the report notedInfection and mortality rates are higher in poorer areas of countries such as France India and Spain while Englands poorest regions experience mortality rates double that of the richest areasExtreme inequality is not inevitable but a policy choice Governments around the world must seize this opportunity to build more equal more inclusive economies that end poverty and protect the planet added BucherGovernments must ensure everyone has access to a COVID19 vaccine and financial support if they lose their jobThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever