The World Will See Its First Trillionaire in the Next 10 Years

 Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiXVNnEU7Fo

A famous song and a quiz show ask, "Who wants to be a millionaire?" For decades, having a million dollars was the goal of the super-rich. Now, the goal is a billion dollars. The anti-poverty charity Oxfam has just issued a report that says in the next ten years, the world will have its first trillionaire. A trillion is a huge number and an unbelievable amount of money. It is a one, followed by 12 zeros. A trillion is equal to one million million. The charity said the wealth gap between the rich and poor is growing. It said the gap has been "supercharged" since the coronavirus pandemic. It added: "We will have a trillionaire within a decade, whereas to fight poverty, we need more than 200 years."

Oxfam spoke about inequality at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. As an example, it said the world's five richest people have seen their wealth increase by 114 per cent since 2020. A charity spokesperson said: "The top five billionaires have doubled their wealth. On the other hand, almost five billion people have become poorer." Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest man on the planet. He has a personal fortune of just under $250 billion. The AP news agency said: "If someone does reach that trillion-dollar milestone, he or she would have the same value as oil-rich Saudi Arabia." Oxfam said the world is now at the start of a "decade of division". It called for a "new era of public action" to reduce the wealth gap.


1. EVIL: Students A strongly believe the saying 'money id the root of all evil' is true; Students B strongly believe it isn't. Explain

2. SUPER RICH: How would being super rich help you with these things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How It Would Help

English

 

Friends

 

Hobbies

 

Looks

 

Lifestyle

 

Love

 

 

3.Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1.

quiz

a.

Very, very, very big.

      2.

decade

b.

A difference (sometimes an unwanted one) between two things.

      3.

poverty

c.

A test of what people know, especially as a competition between people or teams.

      4.

charity

d.

A period of ten years.

      5.

huge

e.

An organization that helps to get money for people or things in need (poor people, hungry people, etc.).

      6.

equal

f.

Being the same in quantity, size, degree, or value.

      7.

gap

g.

The state of being very, very, very poor.

    Paragraph 2

      8.

inequality

h.

An important event in the development of something.

      9.

annual

i.

Belonging to or affecting a particular person rather than anyone else.

      10.

wealth

j.

Made twice as large.

      11.

doubled

k.

The state of people not having the same status, rights or opportunities as others.

      12.

personal

l.

Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.

      13.

milestone

m.

Happening every year.

      14.

reduce

n.

All the money and things owned by a person, company or country.

 

4. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. famous
  2. goal
  3. issued
  4. huge
  5. fight
  6. annual
  7. increase
  8. richest
  9. start
  10. reduce
  1. go up
  2. released
  3. yearly
  4. very large
  5. beginning
  6. well known
  7. cut
  8. tackle
  9. aim
  10. wealthiest

5.Role play

Role  A – A Tropical Island
You think a tropical island is the best thing to buy with a trillion dollars. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these to buy (and why):

Role  B – Gold
You think gold is the best thing to buy with a trillion dollars. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these to buy (and why):

Role  C – A Tech Company
You think a tech company is the best thing to buy with a trillion dollars. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these to buy (and why):

Role  D – Love
You think love is the best thing to buy with a trillion dollars. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these to buy (and why):

OR

  • A castle in the UK
  • A jet plane
  • A luxury yacht

6.Discussion - Trillionaire

  1. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'trillionaire'?
  2. What do you think of quiz shows?
  3. What would life be like if you had $1,000,000,000,000?
  4. What do you think of the super-rich?
  5. What is your goal in life?
  6. What's the best way to get rich?
  7. How can we make the wealth gap smaller?
  8. How much tax should the super-rich pay?
  9. Why do we have poverty in 2024?
  1. What can we do about inequality?
  2. What do you think of Elon Musk?
  3. What would the world be like if we all had the same salary?
  4. Will there ever be equality in the world?
  5. What would you spend $1 trillion on?
  6. What public action is needed to reduce the wealth gap?
  7. What questions would you like to ask a trillionaire?

 

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