The world’s ten richest men, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault and Bill Gates more than doubled their wealth from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion during the first two years of the pandemic amid a jump in the value of everything from stock prices to crypto and commodities. The latest Oxfam report, aptly titled Inequality Kills, shows that their riches grew at a rate of $15,000 a second or $1.3bn a day to make them the owners of six times more wealth than the poorest 3.1 billion people.
In South Africa, the collective wealth of the country’s five listed dollar billionaires – Johann Rupert, Nicky Oppenheimer, Patrice Motsepe, Koos Bekker and Michiel le Roux – grew 23% or $4.8bn in the last two years.
All this while these obscene levels of inequality are directly leading to millions of deaths – at least 21,000 people each day, or one person every four seconds, Oxfam researchers argue.
At home, more than half the South Africa population – 30.4 million people – live below the upper-bound poverty line of R45 a day and around 14 million below the food poverty line of R21 a day.
Oxfam argues that a one-off 99% tax on the ten richest men’s pandemic windfalls could pay to make enough vaccines for the world; provide universal healthcare and social protection, fund climate adaptation and reduce gender-based violence in over 80 countries; and still leave these men $8bn better off than they were before the pandemic.
Oxfam calculates that should the 10 richest billionaires each spend a million dollars every day, it would take them 414 years to spend their combined wealth. By the same metric, should Johann Rupert, South Africa’s richest person, spend $1m a day, his fortune would only run out after 28 years. If he were to spend locally – in rands – he could spend R1 million a year for the next 440 years, reports BusinessTech.
Oxfam notes that should these mega-billionaires sit on top of their combined wealth piled up in US dollar bills, they would reach almost halfway to the moon.
Meanwhile, Warren Buffet, one of the top 10 stinking rich, missed out on $10bn in gains by dumping Wells Fargo stock. The famed investor’s company Berkshire Hathaway owned 346 million Wells Fargo shares at the end of 2019, but virtually eliminated that position over the next five quarters. Business Insider reports Buffett and his team pocketed roughly $10bn from the stock sales, based on Wells Fargo’s average share price of $30 during the period. However, the bank stock has now rebounded to $58, its highest level since August 2018. If Berkshire had kept the position intact, it would be worth $20bn today.
It’s time the rich realise that you don’t need to break the bank to help a neighbour or two thousand because, like Bruce Lee famously said: “If every man would help his neighbor, no man would be without help.” We need the world to be better for everyone!
In the markets, the rand opened weaker at R15.44 due to the dollar trading firmer in the Far East. “Markets are betting on earlier and faster rate hikes from the Fed, pushing US Treasury yields higher. The short-term range for the rand remains R15.30/R15.50, with the local currency likely to track international currency movements,” comments TreasuryONE.
On the commodity front Brent Crude has boiled over $87 a barrel to last trade at $87.33, while metals have opened slightly weaker. Gold and platinum are trading softer at $1,817 and $970 respectively, while palladium is up marginally at $1,882.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
German govt backs SA’s green hydrogen economy with over R700m in grant funding – Fin24
Zimbabwe tobacco barons’ planned capture of Tongaat Hulett – Daily Maverick
‘It’s out of our control’: Eskom fights for 20.5% hike in April – News24
Global Business
Major US airlines warn 5G could ground some planes, wreak havoc – Reuters
Boris Johnson, reeling from ‘Partygate’, takes aim at BBC license fee – Bloomberg
Olympic athletes advised to leave phones at home to dodge spying – Bloomberg
Markets
Asian markets rise, Brent at highest since 2014 on recovery hope – AFP
What strategists see for markets as Treasury yields spike – Bloomberg
Brent climbs above 7-year high on Mideast tensions, tight supply – Reuters
Opinion/In-depth
Legal tools exist to protect South Africa’s city ecosystems: it’s up to councils to use them – The Conversation
Seismic surveys: Shell’s gone — but another devil has arrived – Daily Maverick
Joe Kitchen | Redefining the idea of the ‘Rainbow Nation’ – News24
Video
WATCH | ‘I need to educate you’ – Mbalula lashes out at critics over new driver’s licence card machine – News24
China’s economy stumbles over COVID-19 outbreaks – Reuters
The history of the Michelin Star – Newsy
Image: Wikimedia Commons
