Rich list ‘reveals pandemic profiteers’

The Equality Trust has criticised “pandemic profiteers” and noted that, in the middle of the global pandemic, the Sunday Times Rich List has revealed that the number of UK billionaires has increased by 24 to 171.

Interestingly, the organisation says, this year the Sunday Times has decided to publish the richest 250, instead of the richest 1,000, as in previous years.

Although the richest 1,000 saw their wealth drop from £771 billion (2019) to £742 billion (2020), the number of billionaires has grown. In the five years from 2014 to 2019, they increased their wealth by £253 billion.

Dr Wanda Wyporska, the trust’s executive director, said: “Worshipping at the shrine of wealth at any time is bad, but celebrating excessive wealth during a pandemic is like holding a feast in a foodbank.

“We need to ask how these people are making their wealth and who is really paying the price? Do we really want to fawn over riches, when we live in such an unequal society where children go hungry, our health service is on its knees and many live week to week in precarious jobs?”

https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/news/sunday-times-rich-list-reveals-pandemic-profiteers