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BC’s 10 richest people are worth as much as the bottom 1.32 million combined

While it’s the time of year to think about giving, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is pointing out a glaring gap in British Columbia’s wealth.

The CCPA found that B.C.’s 10 wealthiest billionaires combine for a net worth of $25 billion, the same as the bottom 1.32 British Columbians combined.

<who>Photo Credit: Policy Note

Any of those top-10 billionaires is nearly 6,000 times richer than the typical middle-income B.C. household.

Economists Alex Hemingway and David Macdonald, who just released an analysis on this very subject, said that there should be concern about how much people are making from their existing wealth.

<who>Photo Credit: St. Paul's Foundation</who>Jim Pattison

Hemingway says that this isn’t socially or economically justifiable.

“B.C. is facing urgent problems like the climate crisis, housing unaffordability, poverty and homelessness and we’re often told the province lacks the resources to address them,” Hemingway said.

“But the reality is that BC is enormously wealthy—we’ve simply allowed this wealth to be amassed by the richest few.”

<who>Photo Credit: Policy Note

He suggests creating a public policy to benefit the majority of people, like a fairer tax system, implementing an inheritance tax and closing other tax loopholes.

To read their full report on the subject, click this link.



Send your comments, news tips, typos, letter to the editor, photos and videos to [email protected].




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