'While the Ultra-Poor Increased by 100 Million, Billionaires' Wealth Rose by $2 Trillion...' Polarization Worsens

Global Billionaires' Wealth Rises from $8T to $10T in 3 Months... Number of Billionaires Hits Record 2,189
World Bank "Extreme Poor Increased to 730 Million After COVID Crisis"

▲Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and the richest person in the world [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The global polarization has worsened due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis. While the wealth of billionaires surged by more than 25% despite the COVID-19 situation, the world's extreme poor increased by approximately 100 million people.

According to a report released on the 7th (local time) by Swiss bank UBS and accounting firm PwC, from April to July this year, the total wealth of billionaires worldwide rose to $10.2 trillion, up about $2 trillion from $8 trillion in early April. This surpasses the previous record of $8.9 trillion at the end of 2017. Additionally, the number of billionaires worldwide reached 2,189, exceeding the previous high of 2,158 at the end of 2017.

On the other hand, the global extreme poor increased by 88 million to 114 million people due to the COVID-19 crisis.

According to the World Bank (WB), those earning less than $1.9 per day (approximately 2,200 won) or less than $700 per year (approximately 810,000 won) are classified as extreme poor.

Initially, the WB predicted that the global extreme poor population would reach 615 million by the end of 2020 before the COVID-19 outbreak, but revised the estimate to 703 million to 729 million due to the pandemic. This corresponds to up to 9.4% of the world population.

This marks the largest increase in the extreme poor since the WB began tracking global poverty in 1990.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that although the global extreme poor had been decreasing for over 20 years, the trend reversed due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The characteristics of both billionaires and the extreme poor have changed due to COVID-19.

Among billionaires, those in IT, biotech, and healthcare sectors increased by 36% to 44%.

Regarding the extreme poor, while low-educated agricultural workers previously made up the majority, after COVID-19, the number of extreme poor among urban workers with basic literacy has also increased.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.