Can Billionaires End Global Poverty?

Can Billionaires End Global Poverty?

Ever wondered how rich is someone who’s rich?

As per google search, here are the top few of the wealthiest in the world today.

Elon Musk: CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, with a net worth of $469 billion.

Larry Ellison: Co-founder, Chair, and CTO of Oracle, with a net worth of $323 billion.

Jeff Bezos: Founder and Executive Chair of Amazon, with a net worth of $265 billion.

Larry Page: Co-founder of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), with a net worth of $244 billion.

Yes, these days, millionaires do not really mean that much because of inflation unless if the million is in US$ or UK Pound or even SGD. However, how rich is really rich and what can the richest in the world do for the poorest in the world? Here is one little suggestion from Oxfam which said that just one year of what billionaires made for one year can lift all the world’s poor out of poverty. I repeat, just one year worth of earnings from the billionaires in leading economies is ENOUGH to lift the WORLD’s poor out of poverty. Means they would have enough to eat and a place to stay. That’s all… Read on.

Article in nst.com.my: Billionaires in the world’s leading economies made US$2.2 trillion last year, which would have been enough to lift all the world’s poor out of poverty, global campaign group Oxfam said yesterday.

The British-based charity urged this weekend’s summit of the powerful Group of 20 (G20) major economies to back initiatives by the host, South Africa, to address massive global wealth inequality and the debt undermining developing countries.

Billionaires in the 19 countries that are part of the grouping made US$2.2 trillion last year as their combined wealth grew to US$15.6 trillion, it said, basing its figures on the Forbes list.

“The annual cost to lift up the 3.8 billion people who currently live below the poverty line is US$1.65 trillion,” it said in a statement. Article in nst.com.my:

What about the CEO (highest paid) and the lowest paid employee in the SAME company?

I think it’s really up the billionaires to decide if they like to donate some of their wealth. Seriously, it’s their decision. However, there’s one thing which I really hope could become more prominently highlighted. The CEO in the same company as the driver or any employee who is lowest paid. Their salary difference should not be more than say 100 times? If driver is being paid RM5,000 per month, then the CEO’s pay should NOT be RM500,000 per month.

This is because 100 times is already super excessive! We can pay this driver an extra 10 percent and the CEO’s salary would just be reduced by 0.1 percent. Yes, 0.1 percent! Someone wanted to say but there are so many other drivers, so many other employees in the organisation etc. Well, that’s precisely why I say the CEO should not be paid so much higher than the lowest paying employee in the SAME organisation!

Actually, anyone being paid RM100,000 per month or higher will already be receiving RM1.2 million per year. With RM100,000 per month, it’s already enough to practically do or buy or eat anything which this person wanted. However, that lowest salaried employee could be struggling every month just to make ends meet. Maybe on some days or towards the final few days of the month, this person could not even have enough for 3 meals every day!

Hopefully, this is given more focus and not just billionaires.

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