Today I would like to remind you that the wealth of 1% of people exceeds the wealth of the other 99% of the world's inhabitants. Unbelievable, but it is a fact.
To begin with, the fortune of 1% of the richest people has exceeded 130 trillion. US dollars. In addition, offshore companies help hide about $ 7.6 trillion for the rich. dollars. At the same time, the level of poverty among ordinary people continues to grow, and the GDP in Burundi (the poorest country in the world) per capita is only $ 177. Every tenth inhabitant of the Earth has at his disposal $ 2 a day …
Who is one of the 8 most influential people in the world, how much money do they have and what do they spend it on?
Jeff Bezos: $ 131 billion
The first place in the ranking of the richest is occupied by the founder of Amazon, the world's largest online platform for the sale of all kinds of goods and services. Over the past year, the businessman has increased his income by $ 19 billion.
The ex-wife of billionaire Mackenzie Bezos became the owner of $ 36 billion after the divorce. She has pledged to donate $ 18 billion to charity, joining the Pledge of Giving, founded 10 years ago by billionaire friends Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
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However, Jeff Bezos himself is still in no hurry to join the Oath of Giving philanthropic campaign and is silent on this score. But, nevertheless, you should not accuse him of greed, because he allocated 2 billion dollars to open his own charity foundation, Bezos Day One Fund, which helps poor families and builds preschools for children of poor people.
Bill Gates: $ 96.5 billion
The American entrepreneur, philanthropist and creator of Microsoft has become a symbol of progress and wealth. However, not so long ago, the billionaire announced that he was retiring. This happened on the day the US President announced the introduction of an emergency in the country.
For 45 years, Gates led Microsoft, which generated $ 16,000 in revenue in its first year. Since 2008, he has remained a member of the board of directors and the largest shareholder in the company, but he never forgot to help others.
20 years ago, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda founded their own charitable foundation, in which they invested $ 46.8 billion. Fund aimed at developing health and education, as well as helping hungry Africans.
And, of course, the most notable initiative of Gates and his friend Buffett is "The Giving Oath." Her idea is for the richest people in the world to donate half of their fortune to charity. 75 millionaires have already joined this project.
Warren Buffett: $ 82.5 billion
In third place is the world-famous entrepreneur, investor and owner of Berkshire Hathaway, which controls 42 companies at the moment. Despite his immense fortune, Buffett never wasted money or bought gold toilets.
In his will, the billionaire and close friend of Bill Gates indicated that after his death, his family will receive only a small part of his money, the rest will be donated to charity.
Bernard Arnault: $ 76 billion
French businessman and head of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy and Dior is the richest man in Europe. He worked day and night and he managed to reach simply unrealistic heights. This man truly knows the meaning of the word "luxury".
He is not very popular at home, but he donates large sums to charity, and also became the first donor to the restoration of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was damaged in a fire last year.
Carlos Slim Elu: $ 64 billion
Lebanese-born businessman and telecommunications tycoon from Mexico controls a number of Mexican companies, and his main asset is Grupo Carso. He created a charitable foundation in his own name, for which he allocated $ 4 billion. His foundation supports various projects in the field of Mexican education, medicine and culture.
The billionaire also donated $ 100 million to the Bill Clinton Foundation, which helps fight poverty in Latin America and donated huge sums to the restoration of the historical part of the Mexican capital.
Amancio Ortega: $ 62.7 billion
The entrepreneur and ex-head of the Inditex business group from Spain, which owns 6,750 stores worldwide, prefers to lead a simple lifestyle. He became the founder of a foundation named after himself, which helps to develop such areas as science, education, research and medicine.
Amancio has committed $ 18 million to health care and $ 330 million to fight cancer in Spain.
Larry Ellison: $ 62.5 billion
The American entrepreneur and founder of Oracle is one of the most exciting new tech spokesmen. He has earned a scandalous reputation and allows himself not to deny anything.
Larry had a far from sweet childhood, he dropped out of college twice and achieved success on his own. The businessman is a renowned philanthropist. He donated $ 200 million to fight cancer, and has pledged to donate 95% of his capital to the "Giving Oath."
Mark Zuckerberg: $ 62.3 billion
Each of us knows the American programmer and founder of the social network Facebook.
A film was made about Mark, most of us are registered on Facebook, and news about him, his successes and failures are always heard.
In the future, Zuckerberg plans to donate 99% of his company's shares to charity.
conclusions
These are the richest people on the planet. However, it is time for the authorities to think about how to bring the monetary balance back to normal. It might be worth raising taxes on high incomes and wealth, and supporting small businesses.
Probably, this 1% of the rich also rules our world …
Do you think the problem of the income gap between rich and poor can be solved? And How?