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Guterres: Musk's centibillionaire status highlights inequality problem

Guterres: Musk's centibillionaire status highlights inequality problem

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that Elon Musk becoming the world's first centibillionaire highlights the problem of inequality.
  • Guterres's spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, conveyed this sentiment, emphasizing the responsibility of the privileged to support others.
  • Musk's wealth surged past $1.05 trillion after SpaceX's record-breaking IPO, making him richer than 46% of the global population.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres views Elon Musk's ascent to the world's first centibillionaire as a stark illustration of global inequality. His spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, articulated this position during a daily press briefing, following the successful stock market debut of Musk's aerospace company, SpaceX.

"This highlights the problem of inequality," Dujarric stated. He further emphasized the "responsibility of those on the privileged side of that inequality to do everything in their power to provide support everywhere."

This highlights the problem of inequality.

— Stéphane DujarricSpokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, commenting on Elon Musk's wealth.

Musk's net worth surpassed $1.05 trillion after SpaceX's initial public offering, the largest in history, which valued the company at over $2.2 trillion. Even before the IPO, Musk was the world's wealthiest individual, with his SpaceX stake alone valued at more than $766 billion, in addition to his Tesla holdings estimated at around $279 billion.

This milestone has intensified discussions surrounding wealth disparity. Oxfam, a non-governmental organization, noted that Musk's current fortune exceeds that of the poorest 46% of the world's population, approximately 3.8 billion people. His wealth is comparable to the economies of Taiwan and surpasses the GDP of countries like Switzerland and the Netherlands.

the responsibility of those on the privileged side of that inequality to do everything in their power to provide support everywhere.

— Stéphane DujarricSpokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, emphasizing the duty of the wealthy.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.