INTERNATIONAL – Last year, the increase in the amount of money that went into billionaires’ pockets could have ended global poverty seven times over, according to a report by Oxfam.

The global organization, Oxfam, highlighted the drastic wage gap in the majority of people around the world compared to the top-earning one percent.  

The report found that 2017 made history as the year with the largest creation of billionaires ever. Throughout the year, billionaires saw their pockets expand by $762 billion.

Of all the wealth generated in 2017, 82 percent of it went to the top one percent of the population. This means that the bottom 50 percent of the world did not see any increase in wealth.

The report claims that the working poor continue to support the super-rich.

Nearly all of the extremely wealthy are men.

“This report confirms what workers have known for years: most of the heralded benefits of globalization are reserved for a global elite who consider themselves untouchable,” said Rosa Pavanelli, General Secretary of Public Services International.

To combat this monumental wage gap, Oxfam said governments must prioritize the average worker over the small population of the rich and powerful.

On the United Nations’ agenda is to “reduce inequality within and among countries.”