One of capitalism's most hateful obscenities is the rich can only get richer at the expense of the poor, and a recent survey by Oxfam reveals a new and unimaginable degree of income inequality in which the world's eight richest persons own as much money as half the world's population of seven billion.

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This massive accumulation of wealth by a few is defeating the fight to end global poverty.

A just released report by Oxfam shows that eight billionaires are as rich as the 3.6 billion people that make up the poorest half of the world's population. The report, "An Economy for the 99 percent," reveals the massive inequality gap between rich and poor is far, far greater than has been feared.

Founded in England in 1942, Oxfam is an international confederation of charitable organizations focused on the alleviation of global poverty.

"In 2015 the world's richest one percent retained their share of global wealth and still own more than the other 99 percent combined. This concentration of wealth at the top is holding back the fight to end global poverty," said the report.

The eight billionaires mentioned in the report are:

*Warren Buffett

*Bill Gates

*Amancio Ortega

*Carlos Slim

*Jeff Bezos

*Mark Zuckerberg

*Larry Ellison

*Michael Bloomberg

Except for Ortega and Slim, all the other billionaires are Americans. Ortega is a Spaniard and Slim, a Mexican.

The report also lashes out at companies as the main perpetrator of the global inequity crisis by saying companies are too focused on delivering ever-higher returns to wealthy owners and top executives at the expense of their employees and the public at large.

"Companies are structured to dodge taxes; drive down workers' wages and squeeze producers instead of fairly contributing to an economy that benefits everyone," said the report.

The rise of populism and general anti-establishment sentiment has also been attributed to the feeling of rising inequality and the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of few.

"Inequality and a feeling among many people of being excluded from the benefits of global growth have also been cited as driving political upheaval from Brexit to the elections of Rodrigo Duterte and Donald Trump in the Philippines and US."

The report calls for a more "human economy" where markets are better managed in order to ensure no one is left out or denied basic rights. This, Oxfam recommends, can be done by improving cooperation between governments to prevent tax dodging that costs poor countries at least $100 billion a year. 

TagsOxfam, billionaires, income inequality, An Economy for the 99 percent