Since the onset of the pandemic, many large corporations have put profits before workers’ safety, pushed costs down the supply chain and used their political influence to shape policy responses. This has led to mega-corporations seeing their profits soar, driving up the wealth of their rich shareholders, while small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and low-wage workers and women are bearing the brunt of the crisis. While the top 25 US corporations were on course to earn 11% more profits in 2020 compared with the previous year, small businesses in the US looked likely to lose over 85% of their profits in the second quarter of the year. Mukesh Ambani is India’s richest man; his company is called Reliance Industries, and it specializes in petrol, retail and telecommunications. Between March and October 2020, his wealth more than doubled, reaching $78.3bn, and he jumped from being the 21st richest person on Earth to the sixth richest. During that period, the average increase in Amban
Covid deepened inequalities: wealth, education, gender An Oxfam report, titled ‘The Inequality Virus’, has found that as the pandemic stalled the economy, forcing millions of poor Indians out of jobs, the richest billionaires in India increased their wealth by 35 per cent. Written By Udit Misra | New Delhi | Updated: January 25, 2021 7:35:48 am India’s large informal workforce was the worst hit as it made up 75 per cent of the 122 million jobs lost. (AP/File) A new report by Oxfam has found that the Covid pandemic deeply exacerbated existing inequalities in India and around the world. The report , titled ‘ The Inequality Virus ’, has found that as the pandemic stalled the economy, forcing millions of poor Indians out of jobs, the richest billionaires in India increased their wealth by 35 per cent. ADVERTISEMENT “ The wealth of Indian billionaires increased by 35 per cent during the lockdown and by 90 per cent since 2009 to $422.9 billion ranking India sixth in the world after US,
