Uneven playing field: Sophoan Phean, National Director of Oxfam in Cambodia, speaks with The Post about the nature of global wealth inequality

This article was published in English on Phnom Penh Post online media on February 28, 2025, and in Khmer on the Post Khmer on March 5, 2025.

Oxfam International recently published an inequality report 2025 titled “Takers Not Makers”. What are the key findings of this report?

People living in poverty all over the world continue to face multiple crises. The scars of the pandemic are still with us in the form of unpayable debts, lower wages and far higher food prices, making day-to-day life a struggle for billions of people. Here are some of the key findings of Oxfam’s report on “Takers Not Makers”.

In 2024, the number of billionaires rose to 2,769, up from 2,565 in 2023. In 2024, total billionaire wealth increased by $2 trillion, with 204 new billionaires created. This is an average of almost four new billionaires per week.

The wealth of the world’s ten richest men grew on average by almost $100 million a day, even if they lost 99 per cent of their wealth overnight, they would remain billionaires.

The ultra-rich like to tell us that getting rich takes skill, grit and hard work. But the truth is most wealth is taken, not made. So many of the so-called “self-made” are heirs to vast fortunes, handed down through generations of unearned privilege. Oxfam calculates that 36 per cent of billionaire wealth is now inherited.

Why “Takers, not Makers” and what are the main drivers of these global inequalities?

Oxfam’s report highlights that, contrary to popular belief, billionaire wealth is largely unearned, with 60 per cent now coming from inheritance, monopoly power or crony connections.

Unmerited wealth and colonialism understood as both a history of brutal wealth extraction and a powerful force behind today’s extreme levels of inequality, are the two major drivers of billionaire wealth accumulation.

Oxfam's analysis reveals that 36 per cent of billionaire wealth is inherited and largely untaxed, while 18 per cent comes from monopoly sources and 6 per cent from cronyism, particularly in industries like mining and construction. 

In 2023, the richest 1 per cent in Global North countries extracted $30 million an hour from the Global South through the financial system, totaling $921 billion, which is four times the amount spent on aid. Between 1970 and 2023, Global South governments paid $3.3 trillion in interest to Northern creditors.

Globally, women are more often found in vulnerable informal employment, such as domestic work, and migrant workers in rich countries earn about 13 per cent less than nationals, with the wage gap increasing to 21 per cent for women migrants.

Is Oxfam criticizing the super-rich and anti-wealth?

Oxfam is neither criticising these super-rich people nor anti-wealth, yet Oxfam is anti-poverty and fighting inequality by looking at how big multinational corporations and billionaires are getting richer while others are getting poorer. 

Making money is not a problem, but excessive profits and extreme wealth are. They are the result of unfair economies that benefit a minority at the expense of everyone else. Many big corporations and super-rich individuals are helping to fuel this inequality through dogging taxes, favourable government policy and low worker wages. Though these super-rich people use their money through charity work, these do not replace a company or individual’s responsibility to pay their fair share of tax or ensure their workers are paid a decent wage.

Given the global inequality findings, does Cambodia face any specific inequality issues?

Inequality has been a persistent issue in all societies, and Cambodia is no exception. We have observed disparities across key development sectors in Cambodia, which impact various aspects of life, including access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and social protection. Addressing these inequalities requires a comprehensive approach that involves collaboration between the government, civil society, and the private sector to ensure that all Cambodians have the opportunity to thrive and contribute to the country's development.

Wage inequality in Cambodia exacerbates overall inequality, with low minimum wages falling short of worker demands and leaving many families below the poverty line. The 2025 minimum wage of $208 in the garment sector is insufficient, and similar discrepancies exist in tourism and construction, where women face an even starker pay gap. This results in significant hardships, with the ADB finding that 20.5 per cent of the employed population lived below $2.15 PPP a day in 2023. 

The high cost of living in Cambodia exacerbates inequality, particularly affecting low-income households. In 2023, 58 per cent of Cambodians struggled to afford food, down from 72 per cent in 2013, according to a Gallup survey. Habitat for Humanity Cambodia found in 2023 that many people are not living in adequate housing and do not have proper access to vital services such as clean water and electricity in Cambodia.

Cambodia's gender equality ranking dropped to 102nd out of 146 countries in the 2024 World Economic Forum report, revealing significant gaps in political empowerment, economic participation, education and healthcare. This highlights the urgent need for efforts to achieve gender parity.  Based on the recent Household Care Survey launched by Oxfam on February 25, 2025, in the early 2000s, women in Cambodia spent about 188 minutes daily on unpaid care and domestic work, while men spent only 18 minutes. Twenty years later, women's unpaid work increased by two more hours, totaling over five hours a day, compared to just over two hours for men.

Inequality in education is a significant issue in Cambodia. Limited access to quality private education, affordable only for a privileged few, exacerbates this disparity. The World Bank’s 2023 report reveals that Cambodian children can achieve only half their potential productivity. Alarmingly, only 3 per cent of 15-year-olds meet basic proficiency in math, 2 per cent in reading, and 1 per cent in science, highlighting a substantial education gap.

Cambodia, one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, could see its GDP reduced by 2.5 per cent by 2030 and up to 9.8 per cent by 2050 without swift and decisive action. Climate change exacerbates existing social and economic inequalities, with vulnerable groups facing greater risks from climate-related disasters, food insecurity and economic hardship.

Despite these inequalities, Cambodia has made significant progress in reducing poverty, with the rate declining from 36.7 per cent in 2014 to 16.6 per cent in 2022. According to the Ministry of Planning (2024), the average life expectancy has also increased to 76.6 years (74.7 for men and 78.4 for women) from 76 years in 2019. The government's investment of $4.3 billion in social protection initiatives from 2016 to 2024 has benifited over 7.5 million people including 1.68 million workers through pensions, 2.53 million members through healthcare, 1.96 million members through occupational risk coverage and approximately 4.8 million citizens through the Health Equity Fund. These initiatives all help fight inequality. Oxfam would like to also take this opportunity to congratulate the government of Cambodia for the recent launching of the National Social Protection Policy Framework (NSPPF) 2024-2035 during Social Protection Week on February 20, 2025. The policy aims to further improve citizens' welfare and fight inequality.

What has Oxfam in Cambodia been doing to address those inequality issues?

Oxfam in Cambodia’s integrated programmes, encompassing Inclusive Green Economy (IGE), Voice for Change (V4C) and Natural Resource Governance (NRG), is dedicated to addressing systemic inequalities in Cambodia through multifaceted approaches and development sectors. 

Promoting sustainable economic models, supporting small-scale producers' rights and using inclusive business frameworks to reduce income inequalities for farmers, with a focus on women.

Advocating universal social protection, collaborating with various stakeholders to promote health coverage and working towards fair budget distribution to reduce inequality and poverty, ensuring marginalised groups have access to essential services.

Ensuring workers receive fair wages, safe working conditions and a voice in workplace decisions while supporting them in adapting to new income opportunities and providing fair support during economic restructuring efforts.

Prioritising the protection of the equal rights of women and marginalised groups, striving for equal representation of women in leadership positions and addressing the inequality of care work to ensure fair recognition and distribution of responsibilities.

Addressing environmental challenges affecting vulnerable communities, ensuring marginalised groups have a voice in climate decision-making, securing accessible climate finance and connecting local issues with regional and global climate justice efforts.

How can Cambodia improve its social protection systems to more effectively reduce inequality and support vulnerable populations? 

As mentioned, the government's investment of $4.3 billion in social protection initiatives is commendable, benefiting over seven million citizens. To further improve its social protection systems and more effectively reduce inequality and support vulnerable populations, additional measures are needed.

Reprioritise public expenditure to focus more on social sectors like education, health, women's empowerment and vocational training, as these social sectors received the smallest budget increase in 2025 compared to defence, security and the economic sectors.

Continue improving tax collection by increasing rates on specific products like tobacco, alcohol, sugary products and property.

Expand the Voluntary Contribution Health Care Social Security Scheme to include the unemployed and individuals over 60, broaden social protection policies to cover vulnerable groups, prioritise income security for youth, migrant workers and the unemployed, and enforce social protection coverage for MSMEs and smallholder farmers by mandating business owners to register their employees with the NSSF.

Increase the budget allocation for healthcare packages for NSSF card holders to improve service quality and efficiency, enable earlier diagnosis and prevention, and enhance public trust during hospitalisations, health check-ups and treatments.

Be a legal mandate for the NSSF and the NSAF to publicly release financial and auditing reports to ensure transparency and accountability in funding management, expenditures and redistribution.

Address the challenge of low-income families lacking access to quality, affordable childcare facilities by increasing the availability of public daycare centres, particularly in rural areas, and ensuring these services are affordable and accessible to all families.