Wealth inequality is a global emergency that threatens democracy and social cohesion, experts warned Tuesday, urging G20 leaders meeting in South Africa this month to establish a panel to tackle the crisis.The “inequality emergency” is leaving billions hungry and could worsen under the Trump administration’s “law of the jungle” approach to trade, a committee led by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said in a new report.The proposed panel on inequality was inspired by the UN’s expert Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which analyses the risks of global warming and proposes solutions.”Inequality is a choice. It is something we can do something about,” Stiglitz said at a briefing where he handed the report to President Cyril Ramaphosa.Representing 85 percent of global GDP, the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies is “very influential in setting the international rules of the game” that could tackle the problem, the professor said. South Africa — ranked by the World Bank as the most unequal country in the world — hosts G20 leaders on November 22 and 23 as it wraps up its year as president, a first for an African nation.”With this report, we have clear actions that we can take … to reduce inequality,” Ramaphosa said. “It is now up to us and as leaders of the G20 and the leaders of the world to demonstrate the necessary will and commitment,” he said.- Undermining cohesion -The report “correctly asserts that inequality is in many ways a betrayal of the dignity of people. It is an impediment to inclusive growth and a threat democracy itself”, the South African president said.The findings included that between 2000 and 2024, one percent of the world’s population captured 41 percent of all new wealth, of which just one percent went to the poorest 50 percent.”One in four people worldwide now regularly skip meals, whilst billionaire wealth has now hit the highest level in history,” according to the report.While income inequality between individuals declined in recent decades, largely due to economic development in China, there had been a major increase in inherited wealth, with $70 trillion expected to be handed down to heirs in the coming 10 years.”The world understands that we have a climate emergency; it’s time we recognise that we face an inequality emergency too,” Stiglitz said in a statement before the briefing.”It isn’t just unfair and undermining societal cohesion — it’s a problem for our economy and our politics too,” he said.The proposed International Panel on Inequality would analyse all aspects of inequality — from land ownership to tax avoidance — and inform policymaking.Measures to tackle the problem included fair taxation of multinational corporations and the very wealthy, breaking up monopolies, stabilising prices and restructuring the debt of highly indebted countries.- ‘Law of the jungle’ – The report warned that US policies, including the imposition of tariffs on trading partners, risked increasing inequality.”This new world, in which the powerful break rules with impunity and we move away from a rules-based international order towards a ‘law of the jungle’, could entrench unequal exchange, investment and technology patterns,” it said.”Inequality erodes trust in institutions, fuels political polarisation, can reduce participation among poorer citizens and residents, and creates social tensions of different kinds.”Stiglitz told reporters he did not expect Washington, the next G20 president, to back the proposal for an equality panel but “hopefully a majority of countries would eventually join in”.With relations between South Africa and the United States hitting new lows this year, Trump has indicated that he would not attend the Johannesburg summit.

Starbucks has announced it will sell a controlling stake in its Chinese retail operations as it seeks to revitalise performance in a fiercely competitive market it once dominated.Hong Kong-based investment firm Boyu Capital will hold up to 60 percent of a new joint venture operating 8,000 Starbucks stores across China, under a deal which values the business at around $4 billion.Seattle-based Starbucks said on Monday it will retain a 40-percent stake and continue to own the brand and intellectual property.The partnership marks a strategic shift for Starbucks after more than 26 years in China, where it has seen its market share fall to 14 percent in 2024 from a peak of 42 percent in 2017.China represents Starbucks’s second biggest market globally, though the company has faced increasing competition from local coffee chains like Luckin Coffee, which has won over customers with lower prices.Luckin, founded in 2017, has expanded rapidly to more than 26,000 stores by targeting young spendthrift consumers with aggressive discounts, a host of quirky drink flavours, and brand tie-ups with everything from anime to the traditional Chinese liquor baijiu.It opened its first US store in June.- ‘So much more’ -Dozens of other chains have emerged in China, many following Luckin’s model of handling orders through mobile apps and operating small stores with few staff and little or no seating, which helps to lower costs.Cotti Coffee, another competitor, targets smaller cities and towns with drinks starting at 9.9 yuan ($1.40), and already has more China stores than Starbucks despite being founded only three years ago.Starbucks has failed to meet customers’ rising demand for better value, said Yaling Jiang, founder of consultancy ApertureChina and author of a newsletter on Chinese consumers.”Consumers feel they can get so much more from domestic competitors,” she told AFP.Starbucks cut its prices in June, but its cheapest Americano still costs 27 yuan ($3.80).Luckin’s marketing, often focusing on viral online trends, has also given it an edge over Starbucks’ more traditional approach.Luckin also leverages its data-centric operation to analyse and anticipate trends for its product development, said Felipe Cabrera from Ad Astra Coffee Consulting, a specialist in the Chinese market.Boyu Capital will likely “manage the company in a very Chinese style, which will give some advantage to Starbucks China teams to react fast to trends in the local coffee industry”, he said, possibly even surpassing competitors in “creating ‘hot’ new” products.- Expansion -Starbucks reported last week that its latest quarterly same-store sales in China increased by two percent, fuelled by an increase in traffic, but added that average spending per ticket had dropped.The company said it expects the total value of its China retail business to exceed $13 billion, including proceeds from the sale, its retained interest, and future licensing fees over the next decade.”Boyu’s deep local knowledge and expertise will help accelerate our growth in China, especially as we expand into smaller cities and new regions,” said Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol.While local brands have embraced franchise models to expand rapidly, Starbucks continues to directly operate large traditional coffee stores concentrated mostly in large cities.Jiang said that “they need a new generation of local and young leaders to make changes, especially in terms of marketing”.”If they keep what they’re doing… Boyu is only going to waste their money,” she said.The companies said they aim to grow the store count to as many as 20,000 locations over time, with the business continuing to be headquartered in Shanghai.The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, pending regulatory approvals.