Tag Archives: Davos

‘Tax the Rich,’ Say Millionaire Activists Protesting at Davos Amid Record Wealth, Inequality

“As someone who has enjoyed the benefits of wealth my whole life I know how skewed our economy is and I cannot continue to sit back and wait for someone, somewhere, to do something,” said one demonstrator.

By Brett Wilkins  Published 5-22-2022 by Common Dreams

Activists Marlene Engelhorn and Phil White demand that the rich get taxed at a May 22, 2022 protest outside the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo: Patriotic Millionaires U.K./Twitter)

As some of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful people—sans the usual Russian oligarchs—descend upon the swank Swiss ski resort of Davos for the start of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting on Sunday, a multinational coalition of millionaires of conscience took direct action to demand that governments #TaxTheRich.

Activists from Patriotic Millionaires, Patriotic Millionaires U.K., taxmenow, and the 99% Initiative, who protested outside the elite compound, had a message for conference delegates: “Extreme wealth is eroding democracy,” and taxing the rich will “reduce inequality and help deal with the cost of living scandal playing out in multiple nations around the world.” Continue reading

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‘Stop This Sale’: 11 NGO Leaders at Davos Warn Against Pending Private Equity Takeover of .Org Domain

“The security of civil society should not be entrusted to private equity.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 1-22-2020

Leaders of top NGOs are protesting the pending sale of the registry that operates the .org domain to a private equity firm. (Image: Andrew Stroehlein/Human Rights Watch/Twitter)

The executive directors of 11 major international nongovernmental organizations on Wednesday added their voices to a swelling chorus opposed to the pending sale of the nonprofit registry that operates the .org top-level domain to a recently established private equity firm.

The NGO leaders came together at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland to unveil a letter (pdf) they sent Tuesday to Andrew Sullivan, president and CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC), and Göran Marby, president and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Continue reading

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Right “To Their Faces,” 16-Year-Old Greta Thunberg Tells Davos Elite Climate Crisis Their Fault

“Some people, some companies, some decision-makers in particular have known exactly what priceless values they have been sacrificing to make unimaginable amounts of money, and I think many of you here today belong to that group of people.”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 1-25-2019

That awkward moment of silence when a teenager tells you you’ve set the planet on fire.

Sixteen-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg just told a group of the elite gathered in Davos for the World Economic Forum—as they were seated just feet away from her—that they are among those directly responsible for the climate crisis.

Speaking Thursday before a panel that included U2 frontman Bono, former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres, acclaimed conservationist Jane Goodall, and panel host and billionaire Marc Benioff, Thunberg echoed themes from a video she created to share with Davos-goers  Continue reading

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