Inequality, Inequality, Inequality: The Billionaire Philanthropists as Rich as Half the World

Oxfam today released an analysis of global wealth that suggests eight men have a combined wealth comparable to that of the poorest 3.6 billion people on the planet.

The Telegraph provides interesting analysis of potential flaws in the research methodology, but what is most interesting is that these eight men, these supposed symbols of the world’s inequality, are also some of the world’s biggest philanthropists. So are they the problem, or the solution?

Bill Gates’ name appearing on the list is perhaps the most interesting. Oxfam has been careful to note that he has called on the super-rich to pay their taxes and that he is indeed a world-leading philanthropist. Bill Gates has not only contributed philanthropically himself, but set a new bar for the philanthropy of billionaires leading the “Giving Pledge” to encourage the world’s billionaires to give away a minimum of half their wealth in their lifetimes.