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The world's richest 26 people own the same amount as half the global population, a shocking new report has revealed.

The startling gap between the rich and poor was highlighted in Oxfam's Public Good or Private Wealth? study.

It showed that billionaires saw their wealth rocket by £700bn in 2018 while 3.8 billion people were forced to survive on less £4.27 a day each.

The world’s richest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, could fund Ethiopia’s health budget with 1% of his estimated £108.7billion fortune.

The increased fortunes of the wealthy is underlined by the fact in 2017 the world's richest 43 earned the same amount as the poorest half - it is now just 26.

In the UK the study added that the poorest 10% of people in Britain now pay a higher proportion of their income in tax than the richest 10%.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images) (Image: REUTERS)

Meanwhile, the poorest 10% of people in Britain now pay a higher proportion of their income in tax than the richest 10%, the study added.

Matthew Spencer, Oxfam’s director of campaigns and policy, said: “The way our economies are organised means wealth is increasingly and unfairly concentrated among a few while millions are barely subsisting.”

Oxfam has urged governments to pump cash into public services and overhaul tax policy.

Who are the richest people in the world? According to Forbes magazine, the richest people in the world in 2018 were: 1. Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder, $112bn 2. Bill Gates, Microsoft founder, $90bn 3. Warren Buffett, Investor, $84bn 4. Bernard Arnault & family, Chairman of luxury good company LVMH, $72bn 5. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, $71bn 6. Amancio Ortega, former Inditex chairman, $70bn 7. Carlos Slim Helu & family, Mexican business magnate, $67bn 8. Charles Koch, Koch Industries, $60bn 9. David Koch, Koch Industries, $60bn 10. Larry Ellison, cofounder of Oracle, $58.5bn

Recommendations include universal free healthcare, an end to “under-taxation” and policies to halt gender inequality.

The charity claims forcing the top 1% to pay an extra 0.5% tax would raise an estimated £324.6billion per year worldwide to achieve the aims.

Mr Spencer added: “Women are dying for lack of decent maternity care and children are being denied an education that could be their route out of poverty.

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: AFP/Getty Images)

“No one should be condemned to an earlier grave or a life of illiteracy because they were born poor. There is enough wealth to give everyone a fair chance in life.

“Governments should ensure taxes raised from wealth and businesses paying their fair share are used to fund free, quality public services.”

Oxfam says governments are “exacerbating” inequality by failing to put enough cash into public services.

An estimated 10,000 die daily due to a lack of healthcare, while 262 million kids miss out on school.

(Image: Getty Images) (Image: Photothek via Getty Images)

Oxfam warns failing to tackle issues now will make it hard to hit a UN goal of ending extreme poverty – living on under 97p per day – by 2030.

Oxfam also wants measures to tackle the estimated 16.4 billion hours of unpaid care work done globally daily.

The report said: “Governments face a choice between a life of dignity for all citizens or continued extreme wealth for a tiny few.”

Criticising the report, Kate Andrews, associate director at the IoEA, said inequality and poverty are "wholly different issues" with "radically different antidotes".

She added: "Capitalism has the best track record for lifting people out of poverty. The past few decades alone have seen hundreds of millions of people benefit.

"Demonising capitalism might be a fashionable activity for the affluent but it would be a travesty, especially for the poor, if calls to overthrow it were allowed to succeed."