The rich ‘minority’ controls the world’s wealth

Haider al lawati -
haiderdawood@hotmail.com -

The super-rich, especially in the US and Europe, control the world’s wealth, decision-making, money and media. They decide when the stock markets crash or spike.
They have the power to trigger wars among countries and ensure what should be said or done at the United Nations and its organisations. In other words, they control the fate of several countries, governments, and the price of commodities.
The media frequently lists out names of the wealthy people worldwide, noting some were not born rich, but made it on their own through innovation, invention or even “twisted methods”.
Today the rich minority own 50 per cent of the world’s total wealth. According to latest data by Oxfam, a confederation of 20 independent charitable organisations focusing on alleviation of global poverty, the gap between the world’s rich and poorest is widening due the ability of the wealthy minority to own and control the world’s fortunes.
Oxfam figures, released a year ago, indicate that the world’s richest population (only 1 per cent) amassed 82 per cent of the wealth in 2017, while over half of the world’s poor did not see any significant increase in their financial resources.
These figures reflect the failure of the global economic system. There are many reasons behind this imbalance, as Oxfam believes, such as tax evasion on revenues by wealthy shareholders and executives on one hand, and lack of a guaranteed minimum wage for blue collar workers on the other hand. Which is why their quality of life remains unchanged.
In 2017, the fortune of eight wealthiest people equaled that of almost half of the world’s poor, which is proof of the huge imbalance in the global economic system.
Since new people were added to the rich list in the past period, Oxfam confirmed the wealth of the 61 super rich is equivalent to half of the world’s poor, with widening inequality between the rich and the poor.
This is becoming unacceptable among world’s population, which has reached 7.6 billion, according to the United Nations, while the number is expected to rise to 9.8 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100.
Although the poor and middle class are trying to secure their future through savings in bonds, stock market, real estate, etc., the way the rich manipulate stock markets — alongside the trade wars ignited worldwide — dissipate all these assets that end up in the pockets of the world’s wealthiest.
The rapid rise of such wars increase fears, negatively affect the global economy, reduce employment opportunities and increase unemployment rates and poverty in the world.
We live in an age where 1 per cent of the Earth’s population dominates the world’s wealth and economies, widening the gap between the rich and poor.
The rich rule the political parties, control educational, scientific, social institutions, foreign policy, natural resources, food, national economies and the media.
The new rich list includes 2,200 people with billions of dollars in their accounts out of a total of 7.6 billion people in the world, including some of the richest Arabs with a wealth between $1 billion and $30 billion.
Some experts believe certain people in the world have achieved wealth by being in the right place in addition to their unique talent and perseverance in the production process, as well as use of money laundering and tax evasion.
This means there is a conglomeration in the concentration of wealth among some, which affects wages among workers and employers worldwide as well as the prices of medicines and other essential commodities.