How on earth is it possible for someone to earn $1 million per minute?

Hi Mark M, How on earth is it possible for someone to earn $1 million per minute? Because the system allows them to, that's why. Last week, Elon Musk was declared the world's first trillionaire. This one individual now owns the same as 48% of the world population COMBINED. Absurdly still is that just a 10% tax on Musk’s $1 trillion fortune could end global extreme poverty for a year.  I’m not quite sure what this news is meant to garner. Applause? A well done? A congratulations card?  Unsurprisingly, much of the coverage treated the milestone as an achievement. Another record broken. Another reminder of what can apparently be achieved through innovation, entrepreneurship and hard work. Bravo! But a trillion dollars is not just a large sum of money. It is not normal. And it should never be treated as such. Because when you have a trillion dollars to your name, you do not simply have wealth. You have power. The power to shape policy in ways that protect and extend your position. The power to influence public debate and shape the stories we are told about success, failure and fairness. The power to gain access to decision-makers and institutions that are supposed to serve everyone equally.  And crucially, that power does not sit still. It feeds back into itself. This is exactly what we uncovered in our Money, Media and Lords report. Learn more about this here. In systems shaped by extreme inequality, wealth does not just accumulate. It compounds influence. Influence shapes rules. And rules shape who gets to accumulate wealth in the first place. So the question is not simply how someone reaches a trillion dollars. It is what kind of society makes that outcome possible. An unequal one, that's for sure.  That is why we exist. To challenge extreme inequality shown in stories such as trillion dollar wealth accumulation. We challenge and campaign for a more equal society that works better for everyone. With your support, we can continue to fight and together, we can show the reality of inequality and win real change. £5 will help us expand our reach into 5000 email inboxes with news and analysis that the legacy media won’t touch. £50 can sign up around 150 new keen supporters to push for change. £500 will cover a day of writing to release a briefing to support the leadership debate, urging all candidates to take inequality seriously

Burnham, the Prime Minister, and Westminster. News has been moving at lightning pace since we drafted this newsletter. First came Burnham’s by-election victory, then the Prime Minister’s resignation, and now the possibility of Burnham taking office unchallenged. Phew. Could this be a win for progressive voices? During his time as Mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham showed signs of a more progressive approach to policymaking, including establishing an Independent Inequalities Commission chaired by our Patron, Kate Pickett. We would love to see a similar initiative rolled out across the UK and will be watching developments closely. Perhaps most intriguing of all is the question of who will become the next Chancellor.

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Inequality in Numbers

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