A letter to the News & Star from Carlisle Socialist candidate Craig Johnston:
The annual Sunday Times rich list was published on Sunday (25 April 2010).
At a time when we are all being told to prepare for “tough times ahead” and massive cuts in services, public spending and welfare benefits the richest people in Britain have seen a record boom in their wealth over the past year. Their fortunes have soared by 30%. According to the Sunday Times “It is the largest rise in wealth since the list was first published 21 years ago. Much of the increase is a result of the rebound in stock markets and property values after the (New Labour) government injected hundreds of billions of pounds into the banks and the wider economy to stave off collapse”.
The reports figures are astonishing – reveal that the 1,000 richest people in this country increased their wealth by £77 billion last year bringing their total wealth to £335.5 billion – a thousand people have amassed wealth equal to more than one-third of the national debt.
At a time when the rest of us are told to prepare to “tighten our belts – no matter who wins the general election” the number of billionaires has risen from 43 to 53, with nine seeing their wealth rise by £1 billion or more during the past 12 months.
Philip Beresford, compiler of the list, said: “The rich have come through the recession with flying colours. The stock market is up, the hedge funds are coining it. The rich are doing very nicely. The rest of the country is going to have to face public spending cuts, but it has little effect on the rich because they don’t consume public services”.
Top of the pile again this year is Lakshmi Mittal, the steel tycoon. His fortune is reported to have doubled to £22 billion, thanks to the “recovery” in steel markets (little consulation to those thrown on the dole at Corus at Teesside in the last month).
A boom in commodity markets also drove up the fortunes of the mining magnates Alisher Usmanov, up 213% to £4.7 billion and Anil Agarwal up a reported 583% to £4.1 billion – remember these percentages the next time you hear bosses and politicians attacking workers as unrealistic when they ask for a few percentage points more in their annual pay rise (if they are lucky enough to even get one!).
A host of city bankers and financiers have also seen their fortunes rise sharply after the financial system was rescued from meltdown by taxpayers – Louis Bacon, the hedge fund manager is ranked 49th on the Sunday Times rich list at £1.1billion (up from £650 million last year). Alan Howard, who co-founded Brevan Howard, Europe’s biggest hedge fund, is ranked 66th with £875million (up from £375million last year) and we are told numerous other “hedgies” have seen their wealth jump by 50% or more. At the height of the “financial crisis” the Sunday Times report claims “one hedge fund manager, Richard Chenevix-Trench is believed to have made £82million in one year”.
Spare a thought for the Queen reported to be getting by on £290million (up 7% on last year)…The Sunday Times excluded the royal art collection and the crown estate from its calculation (together worth a reported £16billion)
These are all “Monopoly money”, eye watering figures for the rest of us – attacked as being “unrealistic and greedy” if we ask for a few crumbs more. We are even told we should accept Job losses, cuts in welfare and public services as “inevitable” in the “current climate” these “wisdoms” shoud be challenged – these lies should be exposed… Only the Socialists (and apparently the Sunday Times Rich List!) will do that.
Yours etc,
Craig Johnston
Socialist and Trade Union Candidate – Carlisle Yewdale Ward.
