India adds 42 new billionaires in 2021

Rich gets Richer

- Elon Musk and other 9 richest billionaires had been collectively growing wealthier by $1.3 bn a day

- 10 richest men own 6x as much wealth as the bottom 40% (3.1 billion people)

- It would take the 10 billionaires 414 years to spend their combined wealth at a rate of $1mn each per day

- It suggests imposing a one-off 99% wealth tax on Covid-19 windfall gains

New Delhi: The number of Indian billionaires grew from 102 to 142, while 84 per cent of households in the country suffered a decline in their income in 2021, which was also a year marked by tremendous loss of life and livelihoods, according to non-profit Oxfam India's latest report published on Monday.

The report 'Inequality Kills' comes ahead of the World Economic Forum's Davos Agenda. It indicates that the collective wealth of India's 100 richest people hit a record high of Rs57.3 lakh crore in 2021.

In India, during the pandemic (since March 2020, through to November 30, 2021) the wealth of billionaires increased from Rs 23.14 lakh crore to Rs 53.16 lakh crore.

On the other hand, the 10 richest men in the world have seen their global wealth double to $1.5 trillion since the start of the global pandemic following a surge in share and property prices that has widened the gap between rich and poor, stated Oxfam.

Urging governments to impose a one-off 99 per cent wealth tax on Covid-19 windfall gains, the charity said World Bank figures showed 163 million more people had been driven below the poverty line while the super rich were benefiting from the stimulus provided by governments around the world to mitigate the impact of the virus, the report said. Oxfam projects that by 2030, 3.3 billion people will be living on less than $5.50 per day.

More than 4.6 crore Indians, meanwhile, are estimated to have fallen into extreme poverty in 2020 (nearly half of the global new poor according to the United Nations).

The stark wealth inequality in India is a result of an economic system rigged in favour of the super-rich over the poor and marginalised, the report said

It advocates a one per cent surcharge on the richest 10 per cent of the Indian population to fund inequality combating measures such as higher investments in school education, universal healthcare, and social security benefits like maternity leaves, paid leaves and pension for all Indians.