Oxfam reported Wednesday that the 85 richest people on the planet have as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion people, half the world’s population — a sobering and troubling fact to anyone with even a shred of a soul. Luckily, Kevin O’Leary doesn’t have to worry about that.

The CBC News Network host and business commentator was confronted with this statistic on Monday’s Lang & O’Leary Exchange, and his reaction was one of jubilation.

“It’s fantastic,” O’Leary told his co-host Amanda Lang.

According to this clown, half the planet living in abject poverty while a few dozen people live in obscene opulence is something to celebrate. After all, it “inspires everybody, gets them motivation to look up to the one per cent and say, ‘I want to become one of those people, I want to fight to the get up to the top.’”

Ah yes, if only those kids growing up in slums around the world could look up and catch a glimpse of Bill Gates’ private jet, they’d have something to strive for!

We already know that Kevin O’Leary can’t read, but can this poor man also not… feel?

It’s hard to say where the O’Leary character ends and where the real human being (?) begins, but what value he possibly provides to the CBC is entirely unclear. Either nobody watches the Lang & O’Leary Exchange to catch this routine stupidity or management is purposely destroying the CBC.

UPDATE: O’Leary has responded to the backlash against his comments, tweeting Jan. 22 that he was misunderstood and will clear things up on Tuesday’s Lang & O’Leary Exchange. He doesn’t hate poor people, he’s just against “forced taxation” — you know, as opposed to those voluntary taxes.

Let me be clear, I will always celebrate success but never at the expense of the less fortunate, I want them to be successful too! — Kevin O'Leary (@kevinolearytv) January 22, 2014

I want to debate of distribution of wealth through forced taxation. You know where I stand on that! #VeryImportantDebate @LangandOLeary — Kevin O'Leary (@kevinolearytv) January 22, 2014

#VeryImportantDebate