Billionaires ‘adding to poverty’

Level 2 Intermediate
1 Warmer
a. Write the following numbers.
one hundred and eighty-nine billion
_________________________________________________

thirty-one trillion
_________________________________________________

b. How many billionaires can you name?

c. What is Oxfam?

2 Key words
Write the key words from the article next to the definitions below. Then find the words in the article to read
them in context. The paragraph numbers are given to help you.

accumulation aid income extremes hindering

inequality poverty tackle tax havens the wealthy

1. stopping someone or something from making progress or developing __________________ (para 1)

2. to make an organized attempt to deal with a problem, often a social problem __________________ (para 1)
3. the process by which something increases in amount over time __________________ (para 2)
4. money that someone gets from working or from investing money __________________ (para 2)
5. financial help __________________ (para 2)
6. a situation in which someone does not have enough money to pay for their basic needs __________________
(para 2)
7. people who are extremely rich __________________ (para 5)
8. as different from each other as they could possibly be __________________ (para 6)
9. a situation in which people are not equal because some have more opportunities, power, money, etc than
others __________________ (para 6)
10. places where people go to live, or where they keep their money, so that they do not have to pay higher taxes in
their home country __________________ (para 15)
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NEWS LESSONS / Billionaires ‘adding to poverty’ / Intermediate

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Billionaires ‘adding to poverty’
Level 2 Intermediate
Billionaires’ fortunes hinder fight 9 She said: “We can no longer pretend that
against poverty, says Oxfam the creation of wealth for a few will benefit
the many – too often the reverse is true.”
Phillip Inman, economics correspondent
19 January, 2013 10 The report said the issue affected all
parts of the world. “In the UK, inequality is
1 The huge fortunes made by the world’s
rapidly returning to levels not seen since
richest 100 billionaires are increasing
the nineteenth century. In China, the top
inequality and hindering the world’s ability to
10% now earn nearly 60% of the income.
tackle poverty, according to Oxfam.
Chinese inequality levels are now similar to
2 The charity said the accumulation of those in South Africa, which is now the most
wealth and income often led to a reduction unequal country on Earth.”
in secure jobs and decent wages for the
poorest people. This made it more difficult 11 In the US, the share of national income
for people who survive on aid or low going to the top 1% has doubled since 1980
wages to improve their situation and from 10 to 20%, the report says.
escape poverty. 12 Members of the richest 1% are estimated
3 Oxfam said the world’s poorest could be to cause as much as 10,000 times more
taken out of poverty several times over if the pollution than the average US citizen.
richest 100 billionaires would give away the 13 Oxfam said world leaders should learn from
money they made in 2012. countries such as Brazil, which has grown
4 Without naming anyone, the charity argued rapidly while reducing inequality.
that the $240bn made in 2012 by the richest 14 Stocking said: “We need to reverse decades
100 billionaires would be enough to end of increasing inequality. As a first step, world
extreme poverty four times over. leaders should formally agree to reduce
5 It is unusual for charities to attack the inequality to the levels seen in 1990.”
wealthy, because they are usually seen 15 She said closing tax havens, which hold as
as a source of money. Bill Gates and much as $31 trillion, or as much as a third
Warren Buffett are among a group of 40 of all global wealth, could collect $189bn in
US billionaires who have said they will give additional taxes.
much of their wealth to aid projects, but
there is little detail about the level of their © Guardian News and Media 2013
annual donations. Russian, Middle Eastern First published in The Guardian, 19/01/13
or Chinese billionaires have not promised to
do the same.
6 In the report, The Cost of Inequality: How
Wealth and Income Extremes Hurt Us All,
published just before the World Economic
Forum in Davos, the charity asks world
leaders to commit to reducing inequality to
at least 1990 levels.
7 The report found that the richest 1% had
increased their incomes by 60% in the past
20 years. And the financial crisis has sped
up, not slowed, the process.
8 Barbara Stocking, Oxfam’s Chief Executive,
said studies show that countries suffer low
levels of investment and growth as workers
are forced to survive on a smaller share of
total incomes.
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NEWS LESSONS / Billionaires ‘adding to poverty’ / Intermediate

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 Billionaires ‘adding to poverty’
Level 2 Intermediate
3 Comprehension check
Answer these questions with information from the article.
1. How much did the world’s richest 100 billionaires increase their wealth by in 2012?
2. How much money would be needed to tackle world poverty?
3. Why does Oxfam criticize even those US billionaires who do donate part of their wealth?
4. Why do Oxfam especially criticize billionaires in China, Russia and the Middle East?
5. What is the name of Oxfam’s report?
6. Which country should world leaders learn from, according to Oxfam?
7. In which country is financial inequality most extreme?
8. In what way is it claimed that billionaires cause environmental damage?
9. What does Oxfam want world leaders to do first?
10. What one action could relieve much of the poverty in the world?

4 Word fields
a. Find all the money-related words in the article and write them into the box.

b. Write example sentences for those words that you know but don’t know how to use yet.

5 Discussion
• How did you feel when you read this article?
• Do you think that world poverty can be ended by the world’s richest people?

6 Writing
Write either a letter or email about this article and its contents to one of the following:
a. a newspaper
b. a billionaire
c. your local member of parliament.

7 Webquest
Go to http://www.oxfam.org/ and find out more about Oxfam’s work.
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NEWS LESSONS / Billionaires ‘adding to poverty’ / Intermediate

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Billionaires ‘adding to poverty’
Level 2 Intermediate

KEY

1 Warmer 4 Word fields

a. 189,000,000,000; 31,000,000,000,000 a.
b. possible answers: Bill Gates; Richard Branson; billionaires, poverty, economics, fortunes, richest,
Oprah Winfrey; Mark Zuckerberg; Donald Trump; wealth, income, wages, aid, poorest, money, the
Giorgio Armani; George Lucas; J K Rowling; wealthy, donations, cost, financial crisis, investment,
Steven Spielberg growth, tax
c. a worldwide charity: ‘Oxfam is an international
confederation of 17 organizations networked
together in more than 90 countries, as part of a
global movement for change, to build a future free
from the injustice of poverty.’
http://www.oxfam.org/

2 Key words

1. hindering
2. tackle
3. accumulation
4. income
5. aid
6. poverty
7. the wealthy
8. extremes
9. inequality
10. tax havens

3 Comprehension check

1. $240bn
2. a quarter of the above sum
3. because they don’t provide details of their
annual donations
4. They have not promised their wealth to
aid projects.
5. The Cost of Inequality: How Wealth and Income
Extremes Hurt Us All
6. Brazil
7. South Africa
8. They pollute far more than the average person.
9. formally agree to reduce inequality to the levels
seen in 1990
10. closing tax havens
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NEWS LESSONS / Billionaires ‘adding to poverty’ / Intermediate

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