Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

According to the Sunday Times Rich List - which ranks the net wealth of Britain's richest 1,000 people - the 2008 financial crash meant that by April 2009, the number of billionaires fell for the first time since the Rich List started in 1989.

web.archive.org/web/2009050210…

In 2009, the number of billionaires in Britain fell from 75 to 43, the combined wealth of Britain's richest 1,000 people adding up to £258 billion.

Despite Lakshmi Mittal losing £16.9 billion, making his net worth £10.8 billion in 2009, he remained Britain's richest person.

Roman Abramovich was the second richest person in Britain in 2009, despite losing £4.7 billion, with a net worth of £7 billion.

The Duke of Westminster was the richest Briton & continued to occupy third position overall, with a fortune of £6.5 billion.

The reckless behaviour of bankers, encouraged by irresponsible deregulation of the financial sector by free-market politicians, caused the global crash.

The decade which followed was characterised by #austerity, resulting in rising inequality, poverty, polarisation, & anger.

Between 2009 & 2019, the number of billionaires in the UK almost doubled, their collective wealth more than doubling. The five richest families in Britain owned more wealth than the poorest 14 million people - 20% of the population - who lived in poverty.

equalitytrust.org.uk/sites/default/…

By 2019, according to the Equality Trust the richest 1% of people in the UK owned the same wealth as 80% of the UK population - 53 million people - with four million of those more than 50% below the poverty line, & with 1.5 million destitute, unable to afford basic essentials.

In contrast to those living in poverty, by May 2019 there were 95 Rich List billionaires based in London, the greatest number of billionaires of any city in the world, & the richest 1,000 people in the UK had increased their total wealth to the staggering sum of £771.3 billion.

By 2019, the collective wealth of Britain's richest 1,000 people was £771 BILLION (significantly more than the poorest 40% of UK households combined on £567 billion), which since 2009 was an increase of more than HALF A TRILLION POUNDS - £513,000,000,000!

equalitytrust.org.uk/news/nation-fe…

While the wealth of Britain's richest 1,000 people had increased by half a trillion pounds, the number of emergency food parcels distributed by Trussell Trust food banks rose from 40,000 in 2010, to well over 1.5 million by 2019 – an increase of 3,900%.

charity-works.co.uk/food-bank-brit….

According to the 2022 Rich List, there are now 171 billionaires in Britain, their collective wealth increasing by £100BILLION during the pandemic.

Two of them - Fred Barclay & Jonathan Harmsworth - own the Mail, Metro, i, Telegraph, & Spectator, & many more fund the Tory Party.

Concentrated news media ownership by foreign/non-dom billionaires is antidemocratic.

They invest in media assets to consolidate their wealth & power - turning public opinion against any perceived threats, & using culture war rhetoric to divide voters.

theguardian.com/news/2022/may/…

Imho, UK opposition parties, charities, & all concerned citizens should urgently collaborate on lobbying for something approximating to #Leveson2 - either a Royal Commission or a Public Inquiry into the concentration & influence of (news) media ownership.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1525460094506643456?s=20&t=1fLHtP5OqFpntB3zCVTgWw