A recent Oxfam report highlights the staggering wealth inequality in Australia and globally. In 2024, Australia’s 47 billionaires amassed an astonishing $28 billion, which equates to an hourly increase of $3.2 million, dwarfing the average income of Australians who earn 1300 times less. Meanwhile, the world’s 10 wealthiest individuals are reported to add $150 million to their fortunes daily.
The report, titled “Takers Not Makers,” further sheds light on the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians, who earn only 72% of what their non-Indigenous counterparts make. Oxfam’s CEO, Lyn Morgain, asserts that the economic welfare of the nation is compromised as funds needed for essential services, like housing and healthcare, are redirected towards the affluent.
Morgain urges for substantial changes in tax policies targeting the wealthy, especially leading up to the upcoming federal elections, emphasizing that this concentration of wealth and power adversely affects society. The report calls for the implementation of a “permanent crisis profits tax” to prevent exploitation during national emergencies. Globally, billionaire wealth has surged by $3 trillion in 2024 alone, indicating a troubling trend of increasing inequality, with around 5 billion people living in extreme poverty, earning less than $10.52 a day.