The world's eight richest men are as rich as half the world. The charity Oxfam said the billionaires have as much money as the 3.6 billion poorest people. Six of the men are from the USA. The richest is Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who is worth $75 billion. The founders of Amazon and Facebook are both worth around $45 billion. The report is called 'An Economy for the 99 Per Cent'. Oxfam said: "It shows that the gap between rich and poor is far greater than had been feared." It added that the "super-rich" create income inequality by avoiding tax.
Oxfam said it was shocking for so few people to have so much wealth. One in 10 people survive on less than $2 a day. Inequality traps hundreds of millions in poverty. Oxfam added that: "Across the world, people are being left behind. Their wages are [not going up] yet corporate bosses take home million-dollar bonuses." It said governments only care about big business and a "wealthy elite". An economist said the report was unfair because Oxfam was attacking rich people. He said Oxfam should focus on ways to increase growth instead of complaining about the rich.