Richest 62 people as wealthy as half of world's population, says Oxfam

Charity says only higher wages, crackdown on tax dodging and higher investment in public services can stop divide widening

The vast and growing gap between rich and poor has been laid bare in a new Oxfam report showing that the 62 richest billionaires own as much wealth as the poorer half of the world's population.

Timed to coincide with this week's gathering of many of the super-rich at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, the report calls for urgent action to deal with a trend showing that 1% of people own more wealth than the other 99% combined.

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