Oxfam at G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro

Experts from Oxfam will be present at the upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they will be available for interviews about their key areas of expertise, including inequality, taxation, hunger, and climate justice.

Oxfam urges G20 Leaders to commit to a global deal to fairly tax the super-rich. The Rio Summit presents a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tackle extreme levels of wealth concentration and economic inequality.

New Oxfam analysis has found:

• Over the past two decades, the wealth owned by the richest 1 percent in G20 countries has increased by nearly 150 percent in real terms ($68.7 trillion).
   
• The top 1 percent in G20 countries now controls 31 percent of total wealth, up from about a quarter (26 percent) just two decades ago. The bottom half of the population holds less than 5 percent of total wealth, down from 6 percent.
   
• G20 countries where the richest 1 percent have the largest share of national wealth include Brazil (48 percent), South Africa (42 percent) and Argentina (40 percent).

Speaking ahead of the summit, Oxfam Brazil Executive Director Viviana Santiago said:

"Government after government has catered to the whims of the richest, slashing taxes and allowing their fortunes to balloon to unimaginable heights —sums no individual could ever spend in a lifetime. Leaders at the Rio Summit can end the decades-long assault on taxation that’s been waged by the ultra-rich. Only then can we begin to heal the rifts of inequality tearing apart our societies.”

Oxfam spokespersons available for interviews and briefings in Rio de Janeiro:

• Viviana Santiago, Oxfam Brazil, Executive Director (Portuguese, English)
• Maitê Gauto, Oxfam Brazil, Director of Programs, Advocacy and Campaigns (Portuguese, English, Spanish)
• Lebogang Ramafoko, Oxfam South Africa, Executive Director (English)
• Steve Price-Thomas, Oxfam International, Director of Advocacy, Campaigns and Engagement (English)
• Jörn Kalinski, Oxfam International, Senior Advisor G7 and G20 Strategy (German, English)
• Emma Seery, Oxfam International, Head of Development Finance (English)

Additional spokespersons are available around the world, including in Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Ghana, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the US.

Key dates:

16 November – #TaxTheRich photo opportunity at the G20 Social Summit
At a march held during the G20 Social Summit, activists will hold up a large banner emblazoned with “Tax the rich for people and planet.” Participants will gather for the march at 8:00 a.m. at Posto 6 on Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro. This action is designed to underscore the urgent call for fairly taxing the super-rich worldwide and making rich polluters pay for the climate chaos they are causing.