Indian billionaires' fortunes swell by Rs 2,200 cr a day in 2018, top 1% richest getting richer: Study

Davos: Indian billionaires saw their fortunes swell by Rs 2,200 crore a day last year, with the top 1 percent of the country's richest getting richer by 39 percent as against just 3 percent increase in wealth for the bottom-half of the population, an Oxfam study said on Monday.

Globally, billionaires' fortunes rose by 12 percent or $ 2.5 billion a day in 2018, whereas the poorest half of the world's population saw their wealth decline by 11 percent, the international rights group said in its annual study released before the start of the five-day World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in this Swiss ski resort town.

Oxfam further said that 13.6 crore Indians, who make up the poorest 10 percent of the country, continued to remain in debt since 2004.

Asking the political and business leaders who have gathered in Davos for the annual gathering of the rich and powerful of the world to take urgent steps to tackle the growing rich-poor divide, Oxfam said this increasing inequality is undermining the fight against poverty, damaging economies and fuelling public anger across the globe.

Around 13.6 crore Indians, who make up the poorest 10% in the country, continue to remain in debt since 2004. Pic courtesy: Reuters

Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, one of the key participants at the WEF summit, said it is "morally outrageous" that a few wealthy individuals are amassing a growing share of India's wealth, while the poor are struggling to eat their next meal or pay for their child''s medicines.

"If this obscene inequality between the top 1 percent and the rest of India continues then it will lead to a complete collapse of the social and democratic structure of this country," she added.

Noting that wealth is becoming even more concentrated, Oxfam said 26 people now own the same as the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity, down from 44 people last year.

The world's richest man Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, saw his fortune increase to $112 billion and just 1 percent of his fortune is equivalent to the whole health budget for Ethiopia, a country of 115 million people.

Between 2018 and 2022, India is estimated to produce 70 new dollar millionaires every day, Oxfam said.

"It (the survey) reveals how governments are exacerbating inequality by underfunding public services, such as healthcare and education, on the one hand, while under taxing corporations and the wealthy, and failing to clamp down on tax dodging on the other," Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar said.

The survey also shows that women and girls are hardest hit by rising economic inequality, he added.

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